As an ecologist I naturally tend to view cities with suspicion. They are big dirty places that crowd people and push pollution into the sky and gush it in to rivers. Palda's book confirmed my view but also gave me a new insight into why things are so wrong with the cities we have now.

Palda's thesis is that cities waste resources because higher levels of governments do not allow cities to charge the true price of their services. In Canada and the US cities get the bulk of their funding from state or federal governments. These subsidies allow cities to undercharge for water use, public transportation, police and fire services, and to provide roads for free. If users were forced to pay for what they consume the smorgasbord of cars rolling into cities and making them a congested hell would end, people would waste much less water than they now waste, and people would be less flagrant about calling police and firemen on whims or when their alarms go off. In addition if cities charged directly for garbage collection people would be much more selective about buying overpackaged goods. So in sum, cities scramble important messages contained in prices that ordinarily would be a wakeup call to those who want to waste city resources. Palda also has some novel ideas about how to charge cars for being in the city center at peak hours so that only those who really need to be there go.

The other side of Palda's book is that it explains why it is important to give the private sector more of a share in how the city is run. Private subways, streets, curb rights, public utilities have all proven to be more efficient than the public sector. Why not give them more of a chance?

Palda is pessimistic that his ideas will get implemented anytime soon. City democracy is dead because property taxes on pay for about 20% of true city costs. The rest of the tab gets picked up at a higher level of government. Why bother voting if the spending power is somewhere else?

All in all I found this a refreshing and original book, much different from the run-of-the-mill calls for more government planning or those useless calls for greater civic spirit. On top of being well referenced academically this book also is suprisingly well-written and witty.

Wow. And I thought that campaign spending was the root of all evil. That was before I read Professor Palda's book. In a way I hate and love this book. I hate it because the writing is so good it lulls you and draws you in, just like those sirens callig Ullyses. I love it because for the first time I get to see the opposite point of view. And it makes sense. Established candidates want to use the power of their office to block all new entrants into the political market. So they want to impose spending limits. Established candidates are already known so money does not matter that much to them. New candidates get much bigger bang per buck and so money is ALL IMPORTANT to them. This is how a spending limit or its analogue, a contribution limit, can be self-serving even though they sound very high-minded and public spirited. My central objection to this book is that it makes me feel like I have no valid objections left and that it completely overturned my preconceived notions about campaign spending. Apart from that, it is a witty, delightful eye-opener and I suggest it to anyone who is tired of the regulare media propaganda of the evils of campaign spending.