I understand what you are saying but..........how many of those projects can be entered into at one time? One project with a pay out of 20 years is understandable. 5-10-20-30 projects is unsustainable without massive tax increases. They still have to be payed for, sooner or later. I’m not an economist but even I can see where we are going down a very slippery slope with our politicians.
Local municipalities have the enforcement tool of the Moody’s bond ratings; the more they bond, the less perceived ability is there to satisfy the bond obligations. At some point, Moody’s downgrades the municipality and the borrowing costs increase to the point that the municipality can’t sell any more. If the elected leaders of the municipality have any fiscal sense, they are sensitive to where their “bond caps” are.
The problem with the feds is that they can print money to cover the bonds, and so far Moody’s is letting them get away with it and keeping the bond rating artificially high. If Moody’s rated the federal government by the same guidelines they measured a corporation or municipality, federal treasuries would be junk.