Page 9: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (January 1985)

ronmentalists and errant lobbyists who argue that we—the commecial navigation industry—should pay for all needed repair, expansion, im- provement and maintenance of the waterway system, regardless of who benefits from the system, regardless of regional economic sustenance, re- gardless of protection of life and property afforded by this work.

What higher user fee proponents fail to understand or admit is that there is direct taxation—flowing from the explicit actions of govern- ment, and there is indirect taxa- tion—flowing from the reactions of industry to government policy.

Whether these waterway levies are called a fee or a user charge, they are in reality a tax. Let's not delude our- selves: the water carriers cannot re- alistically be expected to absorb these costs and write them off.

These taxes will ultimately have a direct impact on all American con- sumers, in very specific ways. The vital, life-sustaining freight we carry will increase in price at the retail level as a result of these taxes.

A recent user charge "impact" assessment conducted by Walter

J. Willis, Economics Professor

Emeritus at Southern Illinois Uni- versity's School of Agriculture, warns that increasing user taxes on waterway transportation could damage the coal industry in the "Eastern Interior Basin" as well as increase electricity rates. Professor

Willis' studies indicate that if the

Administration's user tax plan would prevail, it would result in an 85

Leaving aside that aspect of the argument, whatever happened to the notion that we are a United

States with profound, common in- terests? Do these few men of limited vision who today sometimes hold sway in the national economic de- bate ever pause to consider that a healthy, integrated transportation network is in the national interest, and vital to our national survival?

Or are they, as I sadly suspect, cap- tive of their eyeshades, obsessed only with raising taxes, but not through raising personal income taxes?

Our industry only appeals for equity. Our service is an essentially simple one: moving products of great importance to the nation from point to point over water. The na- tion's physical plant is in need of repair and maintenance. We cannot afford nor should we be asked to shoulder disportionate costs.

The message of the biased or the narrow minded to the water carriers appears to be: free enterprise for your competitors, onerous and bur- densome taxation and indifference for the barges. Who can wonder why we languish in depression.

It is crucial to remember that we serve the nation, not merely our own commercial interests. Therefore, it is appropriate that the proposed im- provements be viewed for what they are: preserving the nation's treasure and therefore funded mostly from the national treasury.

There have been numerous spe- cific proposals and an omnibus

January 1, 1985 water bill considered and passed in the House and another taken up in various Committees of the Senate, only to fall short of adoption. And, as the 98th Congress prepared to adjourn, water project authoriza- tions—minus cost-sharing policy— were stripped from the continuing resolution. Why? For the most part because of the awful, subliminal spectre of the equation: water pro- ject = pork barrel.

Until that equation is demolished and the misunderstanding inherent in it is purged from the political lex- icon, real progress will be inhibited in setting in motion a comprehen- sive and equitable waterways policy in the United States.

And we must have such a policy.

Our industry is in a depressed state.

President Carter's Grain Embargo of 1980 still generates seismic after- shocks. While President Reagan has lifted the embargo, the Soviets now see us as an unreliable source of supply and have made contingency plans with other nations that have resulted in significant loss of U.S. market share.

Moreover, pre-embargo high ex- port expectations of grain ship- ments and projections of record ex- ports for U.S. coal generated a mas- sive overproduction of waterway ca- pacity and equipment—further en- couraged by seductive tax shelter (continued on page 12)

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