You're right, the folks in Portland aren't subsidizing you, you're paying your own taxes. The difficulty is that in the long term, those taxes might not bring i

You're right, the folks in Portland aren't subsidizing you, you're paying your own taxes. The difficulty is that in the long term, those taxes might not bring in enough revenue. As long as the suburb keeps growing there is no problem, because state/federal grants, special taxes levied on new development, and ever-increasing property values keep the money flowing in. But eventually growth will slow, property values will stagnate, and aging infrastructure will become more expensive to maintain. Oregon City will have to raise taxes dramatically just to maintain the status quo, and this could have the perverse effect of driving people away and reducing tax revenue further. This is exactly what is currently happening in Detroit. http://www.strongtowns.org/the-growth-ponzi-scheme/ http://www.strongtowns.org/the-growth-ponzi-scheme/