WHITE FAMILIES SUCKED THE SUBURBS DRY
Original article: https://www.theatlantic.com/books/archive/2024/01/benjamin-herold-disillusioned-suburbs/677229/
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Suburbs can’t be a ponzi scheme
Genuine question: Why not?
While the article indeed barely touched on its headline, the way I’ve seen the “suburb infrastructure upkeep problem” described seems indeed reminiscent of a ponzi scheme.
The way I understand it:
Suburbs have a relatively low initial cost (for the city) compared to the taxes they generate. However, their maintenance cost is relatively high because Suburbs are huge.
Thus, US cities have long had a policy of paying the rising cost of their older Suburbs by creating new Suburbs - which is pretty analogous to a Ponzi scheme.
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It’s just another shell game, robbing Peter to pay Paul. That traditional, red blooded, all American apple pie, run of the mill basic corruption we’re all so accustomed too by now
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You have the gist of it. It was heavily promoted, yes, but the cost of bringing city amenities out, so piping water and sewage instead of making everyone dig a well and have a septic, well those costs were almost universally kicked down the line, essentially paid for on bonds and bonds are now coming due, right when we they all need major refurbishing, so double whammy on the current generation.
It also started a fairly craven class warfare tactic. The chosen few who could afford too bought the new development, lived there for 7 years, and then sold it, took the $150,000 or whatever equity they didn’t do anything to earn, and bought another brand new development. The 2nd owner tho, just bought into a house when the 30yr roof needs an “unexpected” $8000 repair, the basements started flooding because the garage settled wrong and busted pipes…you get the picture. Unless you’re the chosen few, you’re stuck carrying the bag and doing all the lifting. No matter what you do. Any complaining tho, and watch yo ass busted down to desolation. Murica.
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A ponzi scheme is getting new people to pay out the old. See also, social security, health insurance, any and every MLM. See also, fractional banking.
It’s unsanctioned fractional banking and the big boys don’t like being called out for the crooks they are.
The same idea, playing out over time, can describe the credit industry. Really, why split hairs, we’ve been told for thousands of years that the money lenders are worse than murderers. Using current resources to pay off yesteryears resource use. That inversion describes all the above.
Perhaps poison pill is the more succinct packaging. Words are important, and clarity should always be attempted, surely, but semantics aside, everything I’ve written here are all different shades of the same thing, the evil of dehumanization caused by greed, predation and exploitation. A pox on society.