How to kill your city

Mitch Landrieu and Cedric Richmond wrote an op-ed together but, for some stupid reason, refused to sign it, "Cedric Mitchmond."   They're opposing the Trump tax bill which is primed for final passage and is also terrible. Here is, I guess, the heart of their statement.

But the writers of the Republican tax bill don't just have it out for families living in cities and towns. This bill amounts to a full-fledged assault on those cities and towns themselves. By calling for the elimination of key bonds and tax credits, Congress seems to be insisting that local governments support important economic and social priorities entirely on their own, even as some communities continue to recover from the economic crisis or other crises like this summer's major storms.

For years, cities have used federal bonds to support projects they know will be effective. They frequently use Private Activity Bonds to fund critical infrastructure like health care facilities, airports, and affordable housing. Tax credit bonds help them renovate schools. One particularly helpful federal program allows cities to repay their debt in advance, which saves taxpayers millions every year. All of those provisions have found their way to Congress' chopping block.

All of this is true. It's also true that many of the tax credits Mitch and Ced lament here are abused by local governments in ways that also constitute an "assault" on lower and middle class city dwellers to the benefit of Mitch and Ced's rich friends.  But, on balance, they are correct. Their slow bleed method of killing cities is somewhat less cruel (or at least less brazen) than Trump's and the Republicans' is.  Congrats.