READ THIS ARTICLE: http://www.mndaily.com/2011/10/10/st...dizing-suburbs
The existence of suburban and exurban communities is predicated on the abundance of cheap fuel, meaning gasoline. The suburbanization of America therefore has huge implications for our foreign policy. Many of our military expenditures are directed toward maintaining this cheap energy supply that suburban lifestyles require.
A study released earlier this year by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group found that since 1947, the amount of money the government spent building and maintaining highways, roads, and streets has exceeded the amount raised by all “user fees” combined, including gasoline taxes, toll roads, and motor vehicle taxes.
A second way suburbs are subsidized is through what’s known as the mortgage income tax deduction, which some have dubbed the “mansion subsidy.” This subsidy allows homeowners to deduct their home mortgage interest from the income taxes, which incentivizes building bigger houses, the room for which only exists in the suburbs.

Estimated at $100 billion annually, the mansion subsidy remains larger than the entire annual budget of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.


Mortgages are also heavily subsidized through federal insurance policies.