The Economic Way of Thinking 13th Edition by David Prychitko, Peter Boettke, Paul Heyne

Exercise 11

Why do so many members of Congress believe that the federal government should subsidize local projects, such as improvements in bus or subway systems in major cities?
(a) Who would benefit from construction of a subway system in a large city?
(b) Can you think of a public-interest argument for having taxpayers across the country pay for a local subway system?
(c) If you knew that your taxes were going to go up $10 a year in order to finance a subway in some distant city, would you write a letter of protest to your legislator?
(d) If your city was being considered for a large federal grant to subsidize an improvement in the local public transportation system, would you expect your local government officials to go to Washington and lobby actively for it? Would you expect your congressional representatives to support it? Would you form a more favourable opinion of local officials and congressional representatives if your city proved successful in its grant application?