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From an econ perspective, it doesn't make sense to build infrastructure unless there's a clear and present demand for it. And I use demand very strictly to mean something people want and are willing and able to pay for, either directly or through taxes. So, if the city can't fund its construction and ongoing maintenance, the infrastructure shouldn't be put in place.
Actually, that's not really correct.
If there's a clear and present demand for say a ten-lane highway but for some reason you don't expect there to be any demand for even an eight-lane highway in five years, you'd be completely stupid to build even an eight-lane highway. Now, generally demand only goes one direction (up) since population is growing in this country. But that's not ALWAYS universally true. Take Detroit. Tons of excess road capacity.
What matters far more than present demand is anticipated future demand.
If there's a clear and present demand for say a ten-lane highway but for some reason you don't expect there to be any demand for even an eight-lane highway in five years, you'd be completely stupid to build even an eight-lane highway. Now, generally demand only goes one direction (up) since population is growing in this country. But that's not ALWAYS universally true. Take Detroit. Tons of excess road capacity.
What matters far more than present demand is anticipated future demand.
Which is true for every single piece of public infrastructure. A sewer plant processes X gallons per day. What is the projected demand in 10 or 20 years. You can't add a single EDU capacity, typically you add in modules of 100. The current ratepayers then pay the bonds on that expansion until development catches up and the new customers pay a tap fee. You can use that analogy for all public works.
And constitutionally (Article 1, Section 8), Congress can build and maintain post roads.
It doesn't say:
car roads
truck roads
bus roads
bicycle roads
atv roads
people roads
train roads
military roads
make-my-30-mile-drive-from-home-to-my-work-and-back-again-as-quick-as-possible roads.
Post roads. That's it.
So while there is no "right" for public transit to be subsidized, there is also no "right" for personal transit to be subsidized, federally speaking, of course.
Yes, I'm aware of post roads in the constitution. Apparently some posters are not. One can argue that post roads include roads to people's homes to deliver the mail. I'm not interested in getting into such an argument. Roads have long been considered a part of infrastructure, and I have argued that point many times on this forum. However, vehicles are not generally considered infrastructure.
ETA: I think the commerce clause of the constitution would include some of those other uses, especially military roads.
Which is true for every single piece of public infrastructure. A sewer plant processes X gallons per day. What is the projected demand in 10 or 20 years. You can't add a single EDU capacity, typically you add in modules of 100. The current ratepayers then pay the bonds on that expansion until development catches up and the new customers pay a tap fee. You can use that analogy for all public works.
Of course.
And sometimes that backfires on you. We built a fancy-schmancy water treatment plant during boom years expecting the huge population growth to continue, which it hasn't. So now we've got a lot more capacity than we'll probably need for longer than was anticipated and less fees to cover the bonds.
If there's a clear and present demand for say a ten-lane highway but for some reason you don't expect there to be any demand for even an eight-lane highway in five years, you'd be completely stupid to build even an eight-lane highway. Now, generally demand only goes one direction (up) since population is growing in this country. But that's not ALWAYS universally true. Take Detroit. Tons of excess road capacity.
What matters far more than present demand is anticipated future demand.
I don't get your example. How a big highway would make sense, but a smaller pipe would be under-utilized I cannot imagine. Demand is like water, if it fills a big cup, it'll fill a smaller cup.
Any way we talk about it, economic demand should exist for the infrastructure to be built. Whereas, for several decades and even now, the infrastructure has lead the economic growth.
$153.0 billion spent. $77.1 billion in state and local user fees and taxes. $28 billion from the Federal gasoline tax -- which is 68.7%. The headline number of one-half is simply a lie, as it omits the funds from the Federal gasoline tax.
Non-sequitur. This post was wholly non-responsive to the post you quoted which complained about your equivocal references to cars being a "liability".
You did not indicate who "owned" the liability - i.e., was saddled with the liability. You simply proclaimed that there was a liability. With respect to your first linked article, Denmark isn't the US and a "social benefit" for a municipality does not directly translate to a benefit to the individuals in the city.
As to the remark regarding "bikable communities" - in what way does that make cars a liability?
Any way we talk about it, economic demand should exist for the infrastructure to be built. Whereas, for several decades and even now, the infrastructure has lead the economic growth.
Don't know where you're talking about, but in the Washington DC, Philadelphia, and NYC areas, infrastructure has most certainly NOT lead economic growth. Roads run at service level F, transit is packed and sometimes unreliable due to infrastructure issues, even water and sewer systems are barely keeping up in some cases.
You said: " There is no "right" to subsidized public transit".
I asked: So do you think there is a "right" to subsidized public roads?
It was a simple question.
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