Spreading the Wealth

Eric Miller, commenting on the book Spreading the Wealth:

History shows that from highway construction to VA loans, the government made the suburbs possible through vast subsidies. These subsidies took investment away from the cities. Before the suburban subsidies began, transportation systems were largely private (streetcar companies). Today thanks to low-density suburban sprawl, neither highways nor regional transit systems can produce enough revenue to operate as enterprises.

The little considered fact is that the government is actively providing large subsidies to transportation. It’s just that almost all of this subsidy is for a single mode: the private automobile. Any argument that suggests the status quo lacks any subsidy is flawed at its foundation.