Strong Towns

4The Infrastructure Cult

The point is that perfectly standard, mainstream economics makes a powerful case for much more infrastructure spending. And this needs to be said often.¹

—Paul Krugman, Nobel Prize–winning economist

The case for a substantially increased programme of public infrastructure is undeniable.²

—Lawrence Summers, former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury

This is America. We’ve always had the best infrastructure.³

—Barack Obama, 44th president of the United States

We need once and for all to have a very big infrastructure program.⁴

—Hillary Clinton, 2016 Democratic presidential candidate

Infrastructure – we’re going to start spending on infrastructure big. Not like we have a choice.⁵

—Donald Trump, President of the United States

The last thing that our cities need is more infrastructure. Yet, at a time noted for political polarization and bitter divisiveness, the only thing our politicians, professionals, and the working class all seem to agree on is spending for infrastructure. Support for infrastructure investments continually poll higher than any other policy item under consideration.⁶ Voters have even demonstrated a willingness to accept modest tax increases if the money is dedicated to infrastructure.

The cultural narrative for infrastructure spending is a pretty easy sell: Building infrastructure creates jobs as well as other development opportunities. It will shorten commutes and keep the environment cleaner. And just look around at all the crumbling ...