Ohio's New Governor

George Will features Governor Kasich in today's column.  This section of the article puzzled me:

Kasich is considering privatizing some prisons and selling or leasing the Ohio Turnpike (Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels leased Indiana's). Today, Kasich says, there are people getting paid $66,000 a year to collect tolls that machines might collect. He says that the turnpike revenue does not come to the state and he is puzzled about where it does go.  (my emphasis)

A quick google search for Ohio Turnpike Commission brought me to the Commission website, where I found this:

Toll charges

Costs for Turnpike construction and maintenance do not come from federal taxes as they do for other major highways. The Turnpike covers its own costs through tolls, restaurant and service station concessions, and similar earnings. The Turnpike also receives about $2.7 million a year from a portion of the state tax on fuel sold only at Turnpike service stations. This money is allocated to bridges and overpasses to state routes.
Toll charges are based on the number of vehicle axles and the height over the first two axles in addition to distance traveled.  A new toll collection system was implemented on the Ohio Turnpike on October 1, 2009.  This changed the way in which vehicles are classified and compressed the number of vehicle classes from 11 to 7.
Since the Turnpike opened in 1955, the Consumer Price Index has increased 657%, while the Ohio Fuel Tax per Gallon increased by 460%, yet the Ohio Turnpike tolls for passenger car travelers increased by only 242%.

Ok, Governor, that should answer your question.  If you want more detailed financial information, here is the link to the 2009 Annual Report.  It is disconcerting to me that the Governor is considering privatizing the Turnpike, but doesn't even know how it operates, and hasn't taken the time to look at the Turnpike Commission's website. I know the actual details of leasing the turnpike will be handed over to some investment bank who will charge large fees, and I know the Governor wouldn't actually get on his own computer and look this shit up.  But I would think he would try to keep from saying something in a nationally syndicated column which makes him look like a total moron.

I will go out on a limb and predict that if the turnpike is privatized, the percentage increase in tolls will quickly approach the state fuel tax increase mentioned above.