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Old 02-08-2011, 12:24 PM
 
Location: USA
2,362 posts, read 2,984,455 times
Reputation: 1854

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Building high-speed trains will obviously create jobs. But they have potential to do even more. Say a high speed train gets built in rural Iowa. These folks would be able to commute to Chicago or St. Louis to work for a fraction of the time it would take to drive.

During previous recessions, people would pack up and move to cities with job growth. Now, due to the dismal housing market, people are less likely to move away.

These high-speed trains can change the way we think about commuting. They can let people in rural areas compete for jobs in the city.

U.S. unveils $53 billion in high-speed rail plan - Yahoo! News (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110208/pl_nm/us_usa_transport_rail - broken link)
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Old 02-08-2011, 12:38 PM
 
371 posts, read 391,650 times
Reputation: 185
Sheer stupidity.
Extremely high price tag and not the right population density or crime rates to support it.
Here's a solution:
Lower the crime rates in the cities to match those rural Iowa towns. After that you'll see migration back into the cities.
High speed rail will only fail in low population density areas. Low crime is also beneficial, as people hate leaving their cars just to have them broken into.
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Old 02-08-2011, 12:41 PM
 
Location: USA
2,362 posts, read 2,984,455 times
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I disagree. I think people care more about employment than crime stats. Fact is, rural areas have been losing a lot of jobs for decades. Giving these folks better access to the job centers will be huge.
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Old 02-08-2011, 12:43 PM
 
1,168 posts, read 1,239,229 times
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If it truly improves the economy it can be done by private organizations with private funding
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Old 02-08-2011, 12:46 PM
 
Location: Dallas, TX
31,767 posts, read 28,716,055 times
Reputation: 12341
Higher unemployment creates the environment for higher crime. Having said that, if billions a year in subsidies to oil companies is no big deal, catching up to the rest of the developed world in infrastructure shouldn't be either. In fact, remove oil subsidies and use it for infrastructural development.
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Old 02-08-2011, 12:46 PM
 
Location: USA
2,362 posts, read 2,984,455 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EuroTrashed View Post
If it truly improves the economy it can be done by private organizations with private funding
Private companies will most definitely get involved.
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Old 02-08-2011, 12:49 PM
 
Location: Dallas, TX
31,767 posts, read 28,716,055 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EuroTrashed View Post
If it truly improves the economy it can be done by private organizations with private funding
Their lobby will have to be at least as strong as that of the oil companies. Do you think that is possible in America where oil runs in the veins of the people?
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Old 02-08-2011, 01:14 PM
 
1,890 posts, read 2,644,350 times
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Uh...

Okay, build a rail. That creates jobs. When the rail is done, so are the jobs.

Last edited by gallowsCalibrator; 02-08-2011 at 03:37 PM.. Reason: Removed inappropriate Language
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Old 02-08-2011, 01:20 PM
 
Location: Dallas, TX
31,767 posts, read 28,716,055 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lariat View Post
Uh...

Okay, build a rail. That creates jobs. When the rail is done, so are the jobs.
^ Genius!

Last edited by gallowsCalibrator; 02-08-2011 at 03:37 PM.. Reason: Edited quote to reflect current version
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Old 02-08-2011, 01:29 PM
 
5,546 posts, read 6,832,953 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lariat View Post
Uh...

Okay, build a rail. That creates jobs. When the rail is done, so are the jobs.
Yeah, and in the meantime, you and me will not have gotten richer. America can only get richer off of selling things to other countries that others want. We can temporarily employ people, but we're doing so through taxation on those who are already working.

I love how jump-starting the economy means getting consumerism up again (which will largely be based on credit).

I'm a big advocate of public transportation, but we do not need to spend more....I agree with someone else who said to remove the subsidies off of oil and reallocate those funds to projects like these.

Last edited by gallowsCalibrator; 02-08-2011 at 03:37 PM.. Reason: Edited quote to reflect current version
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