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Your History Does Not Define Your Destiny, Unless You’re A Bond

Gene J. Puskar
/
AP Photo

 

You know the old adage "Never judge a city by (just) its bond"? Or "Forgive and forget: bonds have histories, too"? No? How about that bumper sticker: "Reductive is as reductive does"?

OK, none of those are real.

While there may be a few "Bond, Municipal Bond" jokes floating around in finance circles (thank you, Parks and Recreation), bonds don't often merit a lot of chatter. But issuing or selling bonds is one of the primary tools municipal governments have to raise money for capital projects, such as refurbishing bridges or building parks. And a bond's — or a city's — past may unduly influence its future, says Justin Marlowe, a professor at the University of Washington's School of Public Policy and Governance.

"The bond market has a very long memory."

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Keystone Crossroads is a statewide public media initiative reporting on the challenges facing Pennsylvania's cities. WPSU is a participating station.
 

Margaret J. Krauss was a freelance reporter who is also the staff reporter for Pittsburgh Quarterly magazine. She spent 2015 producing a 48-part Pittsburgh history series for WESA, biking some 2,000 miles to do so. She previously worked for National Geographic Kids magazine producing multimedia content and researching.