![]() “It’s a little disturbing when there are people who want the paving, and can pay, but don’t,” said Maria. But there were free riders too, and that did bother the volunteers. And then there were absentee owners who couldn’t be reached. In other cases, people really couldn’t afford anything. Who were the noncontributors? Some were opposed in principle to paving the road, because that would lead to more traffic and development. The small contributors impressed Mafia: “You knew they were doing their best.” After months of campaigning, the committee reached its goal of $50,000, the amount the gravel/chip seal coat will cost (the county will handle preparation of the road bed): Through extensive telephoning and mailings (they sent out over 1,000 pieces of mail), the committee persuaded some 120 property owners to contribute. From county records, Maria hunted up the names of 408 property owners affected by the road. Maria and Bill formed a committee to raise money on a voluntary basis to pay for paving this stretch. Its washboards were a safety hazard, and its dust polluted the air and nearby Lake Pend Oreille. The 5.2-mile stretch of road by their property was unpaved, and likely to remain so for many years. No, say the academics, the only way to accomplish public projects is to use government and its tax system to force everyone to contribute.įortunately, Maria Wentnet, Bill Bowman, and their neighbors on the Bottle Bay Road didn’t believe this theory. Therefore-the theory goes-everyone will be selfish and wait for others to give, and nothing will get done. ![]() The reason is “free riders”: in a voluntary system of donating to a worthy project, people can get the benefit of the project without having to pay for it. In the academic world, voluntarism is generally considered a hopeless way of approaching public problems. On the Bottle Bay Road, in North Idah’s Bonner County, they’ve confounded the professors. This article is adapted from his column “The Volunteer Beat,” which appears in the Bonner County Daily Bee. ![]() Payne is a political scientist who lives in Sandpoint, Idaho. ![]()
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