In today’s Wall Street Journal, the Manhattan Institute’s Steve Malanga argues that the federal government shouldn’t bail out states during the “cold-shower time” of shrinking tax revenues, since a rescue will only encourage them to “keep doing businesss the same old way.” Malanga’s chief example of a potential innovation at the state level may have particular resonance in Massachusetts, where the governor wants to eliminate the state’s Turnpike Authority (the same authority now trying to raise tolls):

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels privatized the state’s major toll road for an upfront payment of $3.8 billion in 2006. He put the money in the state’s transportation trust fund and increased investments in infrastructure. Other governors, like Mr. Rendell in Pennsylvania, have tried similar maneuvers. But they’ve been blocked by state legislators who want to keep these assets — and the public-sector jobs that usually are dedicated to running them — in government hands.

Does the privatization idea have any chance on Beacon Hill?