- Not many people are aware that Flint’s water crisis resulted from a fraudulent infrastructure bond.
- Justice is needed for those who have been financially and culturally harmed, and muni bonds are one of the best-kept secrets for getting us there.
Let’s face it—no one gets particularly excited about muni bonds. They are a portfolio bedrock for stability and liquidity, but they don’t make for great cocktail conversation. The latest on your munis in Texas doesn’t seem nearly as riveting as Tesla’s last quarterly call.
But perhaps that’s just because we’re not paying enough attention. The “muni” in muni bonds is “municipality”—these are bonds issued by government entities that raise money for communities to do critical public works. Funding muni bonds isn’t just pushing paper around to make a return—its enabling real projects in the real world.
Sometimes these projects are great for communities, like helping a city improve its water supply or building low-income housing. Other projects can harm a community or reinforce its questionable and inequitable practices.
Forbes
by Morgan Simon
Sep 27, 2018