The author maintains that American politics, institutional arrangements, and political culture have prevented the development of a comprehensive, integrated, intermodal transportation policy in the United States. Dilger makes his argument by examining the development of the national governmental authority in both surface and air transportation. Each transportation mode—highways/mass transit, Amtrak, and civilian air transportation—is examined separately, assessing their development over time and focusing on current controversies, including, but not limited to, the highway versus mass transit funding issue; the recent decentralization of decision making authority on surface transportation policy; Amtrak's viability as an alternative to the automobile; and current antiterrorist policies' effect on transportation policy.

In the United States many important programs are paid from trust funds. At a time when major social insurance funds are facing insolvency, this book provided the first comprehensive study of this significant yet little-studied feature of the American welfare state. Equally importantly, the author investigates an enduring issue in democratic politics: can current officeholders bind their successors? By law, trust funds, which get most of their money from earmarked taxes, are restricted for specific uses. Patashnik asks why these structures were created, and how they have affected political dynamics. He argues that officeholders have used trust funds primarily to reduce political uncertainty, and bind distant futures. Based on detailed case studies of trust funds in a number of policy sectors, he shows how political commitment is a developmental process, whereby precommitments shape the content of future political conflicts. This book will be of interest to students of public policy, political economy and American political development.

February issue includes Appendix entitled Directory of United States Government periodicals and subscription publications; September issue includes List of depository libraries; June and December issues include semiannual index