Good thing us dumb southerns have got someone as superior and high and mighty as the northerners to look out for us. Just like former Indianapolis state house politicians Kernan and O'Banon, who managed to turn a 1 billion dollar state surplus they inherited into a 2 billion dollar deficit.

Political kidding aside, yes, I would prefer an American company run the toll road(s) but it's not a deal killer. In the 1980s when Japanese businessmen were stupidly (for PR reasons) buying American icons like the Empire State building, everyone was in a panic. But the fact was, as far as foreign investors go, they were a distant third behind Germany (#2) and Britain whom we never heard about. Remember Wal-Mart's "we buy American" ads? They became "we buy American when we can"ads and now, walk into any Wal-Mart and it seems to be "we mostly buy stuff made in China". That hasn't stopped people shopping there.

Nor is I-69 from Evansville to Indy being a toll road a problem for me. The toll should help pay for construction. My biggest problem is 75 years! It shouldn't take that long to pay for anything. Plus, no one group should control any public thing 75 years! At least with political administrations you have a chance to vote them out. Mitch Daniels pointed to the toll road "up north" as having been in existence for 50 years as a great example for the I-69 project. I have a problem with paying for something for even 50 years. My mortgage is only 20! The twin bridges over the Ohio between Evansville and Henderson, KY were originally toll. They haven't been toll for decades now and are kept up fine. Meanwhile a bridge near New Harmony and Southern Illinois over theWabash has always been toll and is possibly going to be closed because the toll isn't enough to keep it in good repair. Also, there are highways aplenty in our fair state that are not, nor have ever been, toll roads. I remember as a kid looking at a road map wondering why 3 of the 4 corners of state had a major highway to Indy, but Evansville didn't.

No one knows in what shape the state will be in 75 years, let alone the company that operates the toll. Back about 20-25 years ago, Vanderburgh County passed a wheel tax with a sunset clause to make it expire in (I think it was) seven years. Guess what? We still have it...through both Democrat and Republican administrations.

Oh and, FWIW, being north of the Ohio River, I don't consider myself a southerner. "Not that there's anything wrong with that"