Ambassador Bridge in Detroit

The existing Ambassador Bridge in Detroit is two miles upriver from the planned new crossing.

(MLive.com File Photo)

By Louis A. Breskman

Ever since Detroit filed for bankruptcy protection, there have been considerable discussions regarding how to extricate Detroit from its financial problems. Proposed solutions have included selling off the art collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts, collecting additional Casino revenue from Detroit's casinos, or finding a way for Detroit to increase its borrowing, even though additional debt is hardly a solution. Surprisingly, there has been a lack of discussion surrounding Detroit's valuable location as one of the busiest international border crossings in the world. Detroit is focusing on its hard assets for a solution, however, why not leverage its geographical advantage and levy a tax on the bridge?

Driving through Detroit, the bridge to Canada is easily seen with a line of trucks and cars on either end, slowly grinding their way through gridlock and Customs to further international trade, with the majority of the freight and passengers passing through and headed to destinations outside of Michigan. The city of Detroit could levy a tax per car crossing the bridge, and a subsequently higher tax on each truck, passing over the bridge and through Detroit. Detroit's very history is steeped in the fact that it has always been a transportation hub, strategically located along the straight between two navigable great lakes, and bordering the United States' historically largest trading partner. From the origins of Detroit's automotive business, to the history of the Underground Railroad, to the bootlegging legacy of the Prohibition years, Detroit has constantly revitalized its economy through leveraging its strategic location as a transportation and transit mecca. Detroit is a border town.

Considering the other proposed solutions to Detroit's economic woes that are currently being considered, taxing the international border crossing makes the most sense economically and strategically, as Detroit's geographical advantage is largely what makes the city unique in the country. Gambling is hardly an industry exclusive to Detroit, and with legalized gambling in Windsor, Toledo, and Battle Creek, the gambling industry is unlikely to draw in players from outside the Detroit area, and so harvesting gambling revenues is simply just another tax on the citizens of Detroit. If Detroit sells the art collection of the DIA, will anyone again donate art to the city knowing it might be sold in the future when a need for money arises again? Also, what will Detroit do next when the money from the art sale is all gone? Detroit needs a revenue stream it can count on and the funds could come from taxing the bridge.

Owning a bridge is one of the oldest businesses in history, and surely one that is still lucrative. Taxing the bridge would provide Detroit with a steady stream of income that would be quantifiable, reliable, enable Detroit to make payments on its existing debt, and allow it to resume borrowing in a measurable capacity. Owning a bridge is truly an ancient and lucrative business, and levying a tax is arguably more so.

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