I think you're right, it might. But someone has to raise the taxes to pay the expenses, whether it's quick as in the case of this hack ("make a few lanes usable

I think you're right, it might. But someone has to raise the taxes to pay the expenses, whether it's quick as in the case of this hack ("make a few lanes usable quickly") or slow as usually the case. Local government has to either get the money from taxpayers, or from someone else, or not spend the money. This is a real problem for organisations that received a subsidy to build something but none for the maintenance or repair. Organisations including local government. If they take the initial subsidy they're on the hook later, one way or another. EDIT: Isn't this really a form of how rulers gain credibility by largesse? Roman emperors would build temples, churches etc. to gain credibility with the people. Infrastructure is nothing if not expensive, so isn't rebuilding car bridges really just a case of that? Julius Cæsar killed a third of the Gauls and gained great popularity with Romans by using the spoils. Asking a wider branch of government to tax other people in other areas to pay the expenses the local government has assumed responsibility for is much less violent. Very much less violent.