United States of Bankruptcy

Budget issues are causing major issues for a handful of states. Neal Peirce argues these budget woes are a sign that states are making the wrong investments and that they idea of a state may be out of date.

1 minute read

July 12, 2009, 5:00 AM PDT

By Nate Berg


While many states are investing in roads and transportation infrastructure, rather than education and environmental programs that could help them maintain their competitive edge. The problem may be one of governmental habit.

"For a moment, step back and ask yourself: If we were organizing the United States for the first time, right now, would we repeat our arbitrarily drawn state lines across the continent? And would we stick like glue to our existing political units–roughly 85,000 cities, towns, boroughs, counties and districts, some drawn up in the colonial mist of three centuries past?"

Sunday, July 12, 2009 in Citiwire

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