Downsizing Blog
Infrastructure Bill: Needless Expansion in Subsidies
Congress is considering a $550 billion increase in federal infrastructure subsidies. The subsidies and related new regulations will be damaging for many reasons, as Randal O’Toole and I have noted.
How to Fix the Infrastructure Bill
As Politico observed last month, House Democrats sought to include several anti-highway provisions in an infrastructure bill, including a “fix-it-first” requirement that would prevent states from adding new highway capacity if some of the roads in the state were in poor condition.
An Infrastructure Bill We Don’t Need
The Senate reportedly passed an infrastructure bill last week, but it was really only a four‐page outline of the bill. Supporters hope that the actual bill will pass this week.
Federal Student Loans
Federal student loans are having a moment, and not a good one.
The Growing Cost of Obsolete Transit
In 1990, a Department of Transportation researcher named Don Pickrell looked at ten rail transit projects completed in the 1980s and found that their construction costs averaged 62 percent more than originally projected, their operating costs were 130 percent more, and their ridership was 47 percent less than projected.
A Primer on Inflation
Everyone is talking about inflation, but what is it?
Transit's Dead End
Transit ridership was only 42 percent of pre‐pandemic levels in May 2021, which is making transit agencies desperate to justify their future existence and the subsidies they depend on to keep running.
Do New Roads Boost the Economy?
“More highway spending won’t rev up the economy,” argues a recent article in the Wall Street Journal.
President Biden’s Proposed Budget
The Biden administration has released its federal budget for 2022, which envisions a large increase in the size of government.
Biden’s Programs Would Fail for Many Reasons
President Biden is proposing to expand federal intervention in many areas that are the responsibility of state and local governments and the private sector.