 From the taxpayer point of view, what is the cost-benefit analysis? My Marketplace colleague, Nova Safo, spoke with the economist Simon Rabinovich, who recently looked into the economics. Here is Nova. How many of these plans involve taxpayer dollars? They almost all involve taxpayer dollars. Academics who've looked at it have tracked the evolution of funding over the years, and public funding would often be to the tune of 100% of the project.