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Strong Towns has plenty of case studies of different places, to varying degrees, losing quite a bit of money on maintenance: - Spokane: https://www.strongtowns

Strong Towns has plenty of case studies of different places, to varying degrees, losing quite a bit of money on maintenance: - Spokane: https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2018/10/24/dispatches-from-spokane-living-a-soft-default https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2018/10/24/dispatches-fr... - Kanas City: https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2020/5/5/kansas-citys-fateful-suburban-experiment https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2020/5/5/kansas-citys-fa... - Cobb County: https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2018/8/3/cobb-county-addicted-to-growth https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2018/8/3/cobb-county-add... - Collin County: https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2018/9/27/a-texas-sized-pavement-problem https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2018/9/27/a-texas-sized-... - Baxter: https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2015/1/18/the-classic-case-arp6t https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2015/1/18/the-classic-ca... And then add to that the costs of climate change for car-centric development. And health effect costs of car-centric development.

labrador 4y ago
That some cities get in trouble for any number of reasons isn't news and has been true throughout history, but to call America a Ponzi scheme is essentially meaningless. You might as well call civilization itself a Ponzi scheme that requires new members when they turn 18 to participate while old members at 65 cash out. Outlining why civilization was a mistake is interesting, but not sure what good can come out of it: Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari
- enragedcacti 4y ago
  > but to call America a Ponzi scheme is essentially meaningless Calling one specific economically advanced civilization a ponzi scheme because it has radically different and unsustainable development policy is far from meaningless given there are obvious models outside of the US that we could transition to. > You might as well call civilization itself a Ponzi scheme that requires new members when they turn 18 to participate while old members at 65 cash out. You might as well call all investments a ponzi scheme if our only requirement is that some people are buying in while others are exiting. The interesting aspect of an investment (or civilization/development policy) is how sustainable it is and how transparent it is about its sustainability. > Outlining why civilization was a mistake is interesting, but not sure what good can come out of it Strong Towns doesn't advocate that civilization was a mistake, and the good that can come of their work is not continuing to double down on unsustainable development practices.
- throw0101a 4y ago
  > That some cities get in trouble for any number of reasons […] Yes, but when you are told of specific reasons why cities can get into financial trouble it can allow you to avoid them.

labrador 4y ago

That some cities get in trouble for any number of reasons isn't news and has been true throughout history, but to call America a Ponzi scheme is essentially meaningless. You might as well call civilization itself a Ponzi scheme that requires new members when they turn 18 to participate while old members at 65 cash out. Outlining why civilization was a mistake is interesting, but not sure what good can come out of it: Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari

enragedcacti 4y ago
> but to call America a Ponzi scheme is essentially meaningless Calling one specific economically advanced civilization a ponzi scheme because it has radically different and unsustainable development policy is far from meaningless given there are obvious models outside of the US that we could transition to. > You might as well call civilization itself a Ponzi scheme that requires new members when they turn 18 to participate while old members at 65 cash out. You might as well call all investments a ponzi scheme if our only requirement is that some people are buying in while others are exiting. The interesting aspect of an investment (or civilization/development policy) is how sustainable it is and how transparent it is about its sustainability. > Outlining why civilization was a mistake is interesting, but not sure what good can come out of it Strong Towns doesn't advocate that civilization was a mistake, and the good that can come of their work is not continuing to double down on unsustainable development practices.
throw0101a 4y ago
> That some cities get in trouble for any number of reasons […] Yes, but when you are told of specific reasons why cities can get into financial trouble it can allow you to avoid them.