c finance "principals" and spending priorities. The ageing of the world population (at least in industrialised regions) will put pressure on health care systems and lead to many competing policy pressures for limited public funds - especially with the apparent "cap" on taxpayer willingness to pay. The increasing conversion of taxes into user fees has (partially) provided a relief valve, but there has been limited public willingness to pay for (previously) "free" road access - and public finance authorities have not generally been willing to cede what they consider as "taxation power" to land transport authorities. Land transport infrastructure (road and rail) has a very long economic life (30+ years) - and capital planning and budgeting requires a lengthy (10- to 20-year) cycle that clearly conflicts with 7-year business cycles, 3- to 5-year political cycles and 2- to 3-year budgetary cycles. Any time there is a short-term crisis, long-term plans for land transport infrastructure funding will be sacrificed for short-term expediency. As the experience of the 1970-90s showed in many countries, it is politically possible to starve public capital for a long time before the public starts to notice. The ability to balance stakeholder and political accountabilities makes the governance of land transport infrastructure systems (and their funding) difficult - requiring sustained political commitment over a considerable period (e.g. Swiss referenda on land transport). There are real dangers in over- investment in road transport infrastructure, in poor land use policies, in low-density urban sprawl, etc. It is difficult to manage these effectively except at the relatively local level - but with policy guidance, planning and co-ordination involving senior levels of government (e.g. regional, national, supranational). Long-term investments require political and economic stability. The world inflationary and macroeconomic environment is currently very stable, although there are concerns over the US "twin deficits" (current acc