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For most of the history of the United States, the federal government was a relatively small entity, and there was a time when it had no debt whatever. It’s been since around 1979, 1980 that we’ve seen a sustained upward shift in the federal debt and that’s come about I think because of politics more than economics. Increasingly, Democrats became committed to public spending and Republicans became committed to to cutting taxes. And this unholy alliance, if you like, between tax cutters and public spenders created a fundamental imbalance between what was being spent by the federal government and what was being raised in taxation. And now we find ourselves in a situation where a structural deficit has been combined with a cyclical deficit due to the financial crisis. And we are now looking at a very acute fiscal crisis — the worst in American history.
— Niall Ferguson U.S. debt not sustainable | Marketplace From American Public Media
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Smart Parking Meters Spark Debate: The California Report | The California Report
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Wöhr Multiparker 730 (via 350ZFTW)
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American rail freight is among the cheapest in the world, costing less than half as much as in Japan or Europe. After adjusting for differences in purchasing power it is cheaper even than in China.
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The Hidden (And Massive) Costs of Letting Our Roads Deteriorate » INFRASTRUCTURIST
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The Decline: The Geography of a Recession (via latoyaegwuekwe)
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Board game bestsellers Britain 1 Bananagrams 2 The Settlers of Catan, Game of the Year 1995 3 Dominion, Game of the Year 2009 4 Blokus 5 The Settlers of Catan 5-6 player extension 6 Carcassonne, Game of the Year 2001 Germany 1 Dixit, Game of the Year 2010 2 Dominion, Game of the Year 2009 3 Who was it?, Children’s Game of the Year 2008 4 The Magic Labyrinth, Children’s Game of the Year 2009 5 Ubongo 6 The Settlers of Catan, Game of the Year 1995 (via FT.com / Reportage - Why we still love board games)
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Design // Amtrak Subway Map - Cameron Booth | Graphic Designer
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According to the most recent study by the Congressional Budget Office, released in 2005, capital investments like oil field leases and drilling equipment are taxed at an effective rate of 9 percent, significantly lower than the overall rate of 25 percent for businesses in general and lower than virtually any other industry.
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The Morning Dig: How Infrastructure Can Grow America’s Economy » INFRASTRUCTURIST
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Crude oil prices dictate more than half the price of gasoline, and the price of crude, in turn, fluctuates with broad global economic trends. So today’s cheap gas probably reflects the depression of demand for oil due to the weak U.S. and European economies. But a significant factor keeping gas cheap is the erosion of gas taxes. The federal tax of 18.4 cents per gallon has not gone up since 1993 — meanwhile losing a third of its value in real terms. State taxes are about 30 cents per gallon on average, but they, too, have barely risen lately. In real terms, Americans spend just $19 on gas taxes per 1,000 miles driven — half of what they paid in 1975, according to a recent report in USA Today.
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