Comments on: A Federal Transportation Bill Is Coming… But When? http://www.streetsblog.org/2009/05/12/transpo-bill-coming-but-when/ Covering the New York City Streets Renaissance Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:07:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Larry Littlefield http://www.streetsblog.org/2009/05/12/transpo-bill-coming-but-when/comment-page-1/#comment-67815 Larry Littlefield Tue, 12 May 2009 19:59:09 +0000 http://www.streetsblog.org/?p=6120#comment-67815 "National Infrastructure Bank" means having state and local governments borrow money, instead of the federal, state and/or local goverments paying for things (mostly maintenance I'd guess) today with taxes, and instead of having the federal government do more borrowing itself. The federal government would lend what it borrowed under this proposal, and claim the net debt would not be rising. Here in New York we know what massive transportation debt means to future taxpayers and transit users. The past two months has been an abject lesson, with more to come. Does this mean the feds would stop giving grants for transit and start giving loans? That is worse than nothing, except politically of course. Generation Greed would think of it as more "free" money. Debt is what you get, I guess, when you appoint a Republican to a position. I wonder if universal health care will go on the credit card too. “National Infrastructure Bank” means having state and local governments borrow money, instead of the federal, state and/or local goverments paying for things (mostly maintenance I’d guess) today with taxes, and instead of having the federal government do more borrowing itself. The federal government would lend what it borrowed under this proposal, and claim the net debt would not be rising.

Here in New York we know what massive transportation debt means to future taxpayers and transit users. The past two months has been an abject lesson, with more to come. Does this mean the feds would stop giving grants for transit and start giving loans? That is worse than nothing, except politically of course. Generation Greed would think of it as more “free” money.

Debt is what you get, I guess, when you appoint a Republican to a position. I wonder if universal health care will go on the credit card too.

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