Harold Berliner: Don't let your taxes pay for private developments
From Nancy Levy comes this link to this remarkable piece by a former elected District Attorney of Nevada County, California, who lays out in detail the dynamics of real estate development that lead to privatization. It even has 25 footnotes. Local governments, he says, are strapped for cash and thus approve residential development projects where the developer promises to build the infrastructure. This is a must-read, especially for people who still doubt that it is land economics that is driving the rise of common interest housing, and who claim that it is all about consumers demanding private governments and deed restrictions.

Local government does not have enough cash on hand to invest in anything but it's most essential, depleted public infrastructure – some of which is 100 years old, and vitally needed to improve present traffic conditions. The present Board and Councils are well aware of these priorities, and hesitate to depend on "iffy" money in the future to finance projects that benefit single developments; especially ones that are trying to off-load their full infrastructure responsibilities and are not significantly helping the present population.