Suburbia is Subsidized: Here's the Math

[C.]

Originally Posted by JManc

I just saw this. No. I am still a TX resident and pay no income tax for time being. Yay.

[C.]

Originally Posted by accord1999

That's the only way they can get a straw man to beat suburbs up on. And it's usually always about roads (which is almost never the most expensive item on a city's budget) or some utilities (which aren't usually funded by property taxes at all). They rarely talk about other expensive items like policing/fire which correlate more with density, and transit. Almost nothing is as subsidized as a neighborhood located by a new station of a new LRT line.

There is a whacko on one of the Jersey City forms who's vehemently opposed to public housing because public housing residents pay no property taxes yet contribute a large number of kids to the public school system, which is then subsidized by homeowners like herself and other land owners. She's a heartless bitch, but she's not wrong.

Anyway, point being it's going to usually come down to incomes. Wealthy cities and suburbs subsidize poor cities and suburbs.

Then there is this:
https://libredd.it/r/coolguides/comm...n_what/h6hroq6

[chris08876]

I should get a bigger refund for not having kids at the moment and not clogging the schools up. My RE school tax should be like shaved in half or something.

[Gantz]

Originally Posted by accord1999

That's the only way they can get a straw man to beat suburbs up on. And it's usually always about roads (which is almost never the most expensive item on a city's budget) or some utilities (which aren't usually funded by property taxes at all). They rarely talk about other expensive items like policing/fire which correlate more with density, and transit. Almost nothing is as subsidized as a neighborhood located by a new station of a new LRT line.

All these infrastructure obsessed people also do not realize that social spending is a lot more significant part of the budget. For example, NYC can build a new Brooklyn bridge every 2 years with the budget it allocates on homelessness. Government social spending is very high, since US human capital/labor costs are astronomical, compared to procurement of goods like cement, steel, tar, fuel, etc. Suburban and urban budgets are mostly all about schools, police, and other social services. As the labor costs go up even more, the physical "wastefulness" of a layout of a place matters less and less.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by Gantz

All these infrastructure obsessed people also do not realize that social spending is a lot more significant part of the budget. For example, NYC can build a new Brooklyn bridge every 2 years with the budget it allocates on homelessness. Government social spending is very high, since US human capital/labor costs are astronomical, compared to procurement of goods like cement, steel, tar, fuel, etc. Suburban and urban budgets are mostly all about schools, police, and other social services. As the labor costs go up even more, the physical "wastefulness" of a layout of a place matters less and less.

Wait, lol. Are you saying that suburbs are more economically efficient because they don't have to spend money on people? lol.

[Gantz]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

Wait, lol. Are you saying that suburbs are more economically efficient because they don't have to spend money on people? lol.

This is not at all what I am saying. Do not try to Cathy Newman me.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by Gantz

This is not at all what I am saying. Do not try to Cathy Newman me.

Well... explain? What does spending on social services have to do with wasteful infrastructure spending?

[Gantz]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

Well... explain? What does spending on social services have to do with wasteful infrastructure spending?

When talking about government budgets, a lot more money is spent on various social spending than infrastructure, so looking at various forms of urban development and how it can be the main cause/impact on budgets is silly. This is not the case at all. In urban or suburban context, across the board. Infrastructure is relatively "cheap".