Quote of the day

Matt Yglesias:

It seems to me that when you look at the things that people buy with their private funds, that the United States is the greatest place on earth. We have the biggest houses, the best TVs and computers, tons of cars, etc. Even in the midst of an agonizing recession, this is basically a land of plenty. But when you look at the things that we buy collectively with public funds, you find many areas where the United States falls short. Our schools are not the best in the world. Our sidewalks are not the best-maintained. Our mass transit systems are sub-standard. Our cities are unsafe. Our intercity passenger rail is a joke. Our internet is not the fastest in the world and our electrical grid is incredibly outdated. As we move toward recovery, it seems to me that if we really want to boost living standards we need to shift the balance between private consumption and public investment.

Yes.