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> This money came from the federal government, and not the local tax payer - ultimately with the federal government taking on long-term debt to fund it. It did
by xyzzyz 6y ago
> This money came from the federal government, and not the local tax payer - ultimately with the federal government taking on long-term debt to fund it.
It did not, this is completely false. Federal government by and large didn't fund local roads and sewers. Federal government did often help with interstate highways and large water works, but those would be built just the same even with the Strong Towns preferred high density development model.
By the way, the money that federal government spends is not created out of thin air. It comes mostly from federal income tax, which is overwhelmingly paid by the people living in exactly the kind of suburbs Strong Towns hates.
- mixmastamyk 6y agoI don't know how one would miss it, but the national debt is stupefying and increasing. The Federal Reserve has indeed been creating money out of thin air for decades, by the trillions. Sooner or later it adds up to real money.
- xyzzyz 6y agoThe infrastructure spending of federal government is trivial compared to its entitlement spending. That’s where the real cost is, not in bridges or interstates.
- lumost 6y agowhich further implies that the federal govt could have the money to rebuild the infrastructure. Consider that the entitlement spending is primarily distributed to the individuals living in the too expensive to maintain cities and towns.