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I used to at least somewhat believe in American Exceptipnalism. Now I tend to think we're just exceptionally stupid.
How else to explain the fact that we're the dominant superpower who spends like 10x the next biggest nation on military, and yet we seem to be vehemently opposed to any infrastructure investment in this nation?
And it's not just a Texas thing. Here in California, we've been told to accept that power shuts off even when functional just because the wind is blowing. That is literally the plan to stop antiquated equipment from causing massive wildfires. So clearly it's not just a liberal or conservative problem.
And it's even more than just the electric grid. Airports, roads, bridges, other utilities in this nation are pathetic. This is not a new thing. Go look at the infrastructure in cities like Tokyo, Shanghai, Singapore - we are a joke.
And don't even get me started on healthcare and how we've decided to make that a privilege of only white collar people who work for large enough corporations.
How long have we known that our infrastructure in this nation is crap? How long have we talked about infrastructure bills through every Democrat and Republican administration but seen nothing, like some sort of a mythical unicorn?
Even now, I doubt Congress will mobilize to do anything. Democrats will push some impractical green stuff and Republicans will rather die than fund anything. America is apparently a nation where citizens are content to return to 17th century standards of living while we flex our military muscle and lie to ourselves about what an "exceptional" nation we are. That we are, just not in a good way.
This nation is in long-term decline, and it's more complex than just a Democrat or Republican problem; it's both together.
Agreed 100%. The can keeps getting kicked down the road and it's just getting worse at is goes. Traveling abroad makes one appreciate just how bad our infrastructure is overall.
I used to at least somewhat believe in American Exceptipnalism. Now I tend to think we're just exceptionally stupid.
How else to explain the fact that we're the dominant superpower who spends like 10x the next biggest nation on military, and yet we seem to be vehemently opposed to any infrastructure investment in this nation?
And it's not just a Texas thing. Here in California, we've been told to accept that power shuts off even when functional just because the wind is blowing. That is literally the plan to stop antiquated equipment from causing massive wildfires. So clearly it's not just a liberal or conservative problem.
And it's even more than just the electric grid. Airports, roads, bridges, other utilities in this nation are pathetic. This is not a new thing. Go look at the infrastructure in cities like Tokyo, Shanghai, Singapore - we are a joke.
And don't even get me started on healthcare and how we've decided to make that a privilege of only white collar people who work for large enough corporations.
How long have we known that our infrastructure in this nation is crap? How long have we talked about infrastructure bills through every Democrat and Republican administration but seen nothing, like some sort of a mythical unicorn?
Even now, I doubt Congress will mobilize to do anything. Democrats will push some impractical green stuff and Republicans will rather die than fund anything. America is apparently a nation where citizens are content to return to 17th century standards of living while we flex our military muscle and lie to ourselves about what an "exceptional" nation we are. That we are, just not in a good way.
This nation is in long-term decline, and it's more complex than just a Democrat or Republican problem; it's both together.
As soon as we taxpayers have had enough of democrats spending money on social justice and a 'woke' culture.
I used to at least somewhat believe in American Exceptipnalism. Now I tend to think we're just exceptionally stupid.
How else to explain the fact that we're the dominant superpower who spends like 10x the next biggest nation on military, and yet we seem to be vehemently opposed to any infrastructure investment in this nation?
And it's not just a Texas thing. Here in California, we've been told to accept that power shuts off even when functional just because the wind is blowing. That is literally the plan to stop antiquated equipment from causing massive wildfires. So clearly it's not just a liberal or conservative problem.
And it's even more than just the electric grid. Airports, roads, bridges, other utilities in this nation are pathetic. This is not a new thing. Go look at the infrastructure in cities like Tokyo, Shanghai, Singapore - we are a joke.
And don't even get me started on healthcare and how we've decided to make that a privilege of only white collar people who work for large enough corporations.
How long have we known that our infrastructure in this nation is crap? How long have we talked about infrastructure bills through every Democrat and Republican administration but seen nothing, like some sort of a mythical unicorn?
Even now, I doubt Congress will mobilize to do anything. Democrats will push some impractical green stuff and Republicans will rather die than fund anything. America is apparently a nation where citizens are content to return to 17th century standards of living while we flex our military muscle and lie to ourselves about what an "exceptional" nation we are. That we are, just not in a good way.
This nation is in long-term decline, and it's more complex than just a Democrat or Republican problem; it's both together.
As long as we have programs giving away money to people who could work, that will not happen.
How about all the people getting governent "benefits" be required to work to their level of ability on these infrastructure projects in return for their "benefits"?
Other places don't make a big production out of building things. The word is the Northeast Corridor's Acela was referred to in its manufacturing plant in Montreal as "the pig," due to its weight.
The Interstate system wasn't built, because a bunch of private companies got together and decided the time had come to build a massive highway system.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Annandale_Man
Neither were the railroads. I don't recall any government workers in either. They were private contractors.
Private companies had an incentive to build railroads, because they owned not only the tracks, but also the trains that ran on them. Thus, they could recoup their investment in the tracks by charging passengers and shippers to use their trains.
Private companies could also build highways, but how would they recoup their investment? Through tolls, of course. Trouble is, the interstate system was explicitly designed to be toll-free. Thus, a private company would have had no way to recoup their investment, which is why it fell to the government to build the interstates.
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