Compare and contrast the use of roads today with another famous public works project: The Roman grain dole. The grain dole in Rome was MANY things at MANY times

Compare and contrast the use of roads today with another famous public works project: The Roman grain dole. The grain dole in Rome was MANY things at MANY times. But one aspect of it's effects on the Roman economy was the increase in luxury good purchasing in certain times and places. Much like today, basic food requirements took up a lot of the income for poorer citizens. By giving out food for free, these plebians were able to spend that money on more goods and services, thereby increasing trade in the ancient world. (NOTE: this incredibly simplifies a lot of things and is very debatable). That said, roads act in a similar way. If you have to pay a toll for every road, then poor people will use the roads less. If the roads are free, then poor people will use that toll money on other things. Per the article and the issue of traffic, I guess this means that poor people have more of their time taken away from them whilst sitting in traffic as they drive further and are not being driven around by chauffers. If we got rid of this 'time tax' that is traffic congestion, it would be better for poor people. They would use their time on other things that are good for the economy or their lives. I'm also skeptical that this 'time tax' is all that high. Emotionally, traffic is a nightmare, and well extends past my time actually spent in it. But that's a seperate issue. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cura_Annonae https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cura_Annonae