Your Tax Dollars at Work: Worst Roads in America

January 18, 2024 By E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

By Dragan Mujan @ Shutterstock.com

According to the Bureau of Transportation, Rhode Island has the worst roads in America. That’s despite having among the top 15 highest taxation among the states, according to the Tax Foundation. Christian Winthrop reports in The Newport Buzz about the sad new ranking for Rhode Island, writing:

Rhode Island has the worst roads in America, according to recent data released by the Bureau of Transportation.

As of 2020, Rhode Island had the worst roads of any state, with 48.1% of its road miles classified as “poor” by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Even more concerning is the apparent deterioration our state’s road conditions, marked by a 33.3 percent increase in the proportion of ‘poor’ road miles from 2000 to 2020.

Following closely, New Jersey and Hawaii recorded the next-highest percentages of “poor” road miles, both exceeding 40%. New Mexico and California trailed behind with percentages of 34% and 33%, respectively.

The states with the lowest percentage of roads ranked as poor, were: Tennessee: 5.4% Wyoming: 5.7% North Dakota: 5.8% Oklahoma: 6.3% Nebraska: 7.1% Overall, the study found, 80.1% of roads in the United States were considered acceptable.

Action Line: Notice that Wyoming has the second-best roads in America, despite having the country’s second-lowest tax burden (according to the Tax Foundation). Tennessee scored America’s best roads and has the third-lowest tax burden. Your tax dollars at work. Click here to subscribe to my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter.

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E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

E.J. Smith is Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. His focus at all times is on preparing clients and readers for “Times Like These.” E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998. E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zildjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart (RIP) of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West (RIP JB) and Paris. Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com To sign up for my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter, click here.

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