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Who pays for our "War on Terror"? Who pays for the Israelis bombing Palestinian children? Who pays the mercenaries delivering weapons in the various sand boxes? Who pays for building and operating billion dollar floating targets? Who pays for propping up a Saudi despot by paying outrageous oil prices?
We ALL pay even though relatively few benefit from all this waste. I would rather my taxes go toward building something we all can use instead of paying for slaughter in faraway places.
Who pays for our "War on Terror"? Who pays for the Israelis bombing Palestinian children? Who pays the mercenaries delivering weapons in the various sand boxes? Who pays for building and operating billion dollar floating targets? Who pays for propping up a Saudi despot by paying outrageous oil prices?
We ALL pay even though relatively few benefit from all this waste. I would rather my taxes go toward building something we all can use instead of paying for slaughter in faraway places.
That I can agree on. Mililtary spending, and policing the world is a big drain on us, unless of course you're one of the special interests benefiting from the Military Industrial Complex.
I think it is beyond stupid that we don't already have fully operational high speed rail in the Northeast megalopolis.
Boston-New York City-Philadelphia-Baltimore/DC.
Almost 20% of the entire country's population lives here on 2% of the land area.
Amtrak is pretty good now, but it shouldn't be faster driving from DC to Boston than it is on the train.
Philadelphia to New York is currently as fast as 1 Hour 5 Min on Amtrak, but with the high speed rail it will be 37 Minutes. That changes things dramatically for the entire region IMO.
I think the most important thing is to use developing and building HSR as an alternate to employing people to develop and build weapons we do not nor ever will need. We should transfer at least half of our current defense spending to domestic infrastructure projects. High Speed Rail could be the showcase for that change in priorities. It would also be a change in our economy from the failed FIRE consumer economy back to a manufacturing and export economy that would provide real wealth instead of costly credit.
The map posted earlier should be just a start in a complete network from Downeast Maine to San Diego and Seattle to Miami. Connecting Chicago to New Orleans is also obvious. We could start financing this development by removing Federal subsidies from the airline industry starting with Air Traffic Control and all the rest. In accordance with modern business “principals” these costs should be paid for by the passengers and freight shippers.
Developing HSR may or may not benefit me directly bur I am certain that spending trillions to blow up villages half a world away to somehow “guarantee” our financiers access to future resource development does not nor ever will. If FDF can sanctimoniously complain the HSR will never benefit him I can do the same about our expensive commercial Imperium and the outrageous War Machine and the profiteers that feed off the military spending.
Excellent post. I completely agree about directing our economy back to manufacturing/export vs. FIRE. FIRE has really done a number on the middle class in this country, IMO. I love your position on resource development and the military-industrial complex as well.
very little. wish people would understand that before they start wanting to talk about their favorite projects.
"Very little"? Well that isn't specific, is it? What should people "understand"? You've given nothing of substance as to what points you are referring to.
I think the most important thing is to use developing and building HSR as an alternate to employing people to develop and build weapons we do not nor ever will need. We should transfer at least half of our current defense spending to domestic infrastructure projects. High Speed Rail could be the showcase for that change in priorities. It would also be a change in our economy from the failed FIRE consumer economy back to a manufacturing and export economy that would provide real wealth instead of costly credit.
The map posted earlier should be just a start in a complete network from Downeast Maine to San Diego and Seattle to Miami. Connecting Chicago to New Orleans is also obvious. We could start financing this development by removing Federal subsidies from the airline industry starting with Air Traffic Control and all the rest. In accordance with modern business “principals” these costs should be paid for by the passengers and freight shippers.
Developing HSR may or may not benefit me directly bur I am certain that spending trillions to blow up villages half a world away to somehow “guarantee” our financiers access to future resource development does not nor ever will. If FDF can sanctimoniously complain the HSR will never benefit him I can do the same about our expensive commercial Imperium and the outrageous War Machine and the profiteers that feed off the military spending.
really?????
how about cutting defense spending by 50%, cut all social welfare spending by the same 50%. then refund all those monies to the people who paid into the system. then cut taxes by 25%, use the other 25% to pay down the national debt.
to hell with having a taxpayer funded HSR boondoggle.
Look, the post office cant even shut down money losing locations because of the political wrangling and strings congress attatches to them, HSR would be no different.
America has no use for yet another politicized debt ridden government run entity/monopoly and any such HSR system would be done more efficiently if created by private sector interests using their own money.
Study recent history ( pre AMTRAK) to see how great rail travel once was.
I think we should cut the MIC 50%, use the income tax to cut dividend and interest returns 50% and employ the "welfare" recipients to build and service the new infrastructure. Just returning to a manufacturing economy will take care of the debt.
I think it is beyond stupid that we don't already have fully operational high speed rail in the Northeast megalopolis.
Boston-New York City-Philadelphia-Baltimore/DC.
Almost 20% of the entire country's population lives here on 2% of the land area.
Amtrak is pretty good now, but it shouldn't be faster driving from DC to Boston than it is on the train.
Philadelphia to New York is currently as fast as 1 Hour 5 Min on Amtrak, but with the high speed rail it will be 37 Minutes. That changes things dramatically for the entire region IMO.
There's already an existing HSR in the Bos-Wash corridor.
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Who pays?
Excellent post. I completely agree about directing our economy back to manufacturing/export vs. FIRE. FIRE has really done a number on the middle class in this country, IMO. I love your position on resource development and the military-industrial complex as well.