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The US has forgotten how to do infrastructure

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Re: The US has forgotten how to do infrastructure

#511

Post by mason240 »

Mz wrote: post #424
primeblue wrote: post #357

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you tried carrying 10 shopping bags a couple of miles with screaming toddlers and young kids?

I used to walk to the grocery store in Germany six days a week with a toddler and an infant and a backpack for my groceries. I was in American military housing. After I moved to Kansas, I ran into a soldier I did not remember, but he clearly remembered me. The soldiers who knew what it was like to carry a 60 pound ruck sack had all kinds of respect for me. It can be done. Not by everyone and I am not saying you are r…

Yes, just like we can live by subsistence farming with manual labor, living in huts.

It can be done, but most of us want to progress.

Re: The US has forgotten how to do infrastructure

#512

Post by LordKano »

ACow_Adonis wrote: post #459
zghst wrote: post #442

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even in San Francisco, widely known for its public transit system, not having a car some of the time sucks. It's much more convenient to get around by car. That's why Uber and Zipcar are ultra popular here.

Is San Fran really known for its public transport system? New York, sure. Everyone's heard of their subway. The first time I'd ever heard of BART was when I visited briefly, and in doing so I learnt 2 things: 1) BART is pretty bad: noisy and a small network 2) Talking to people during my short stay made it pretty clear San-Fran and the bay area was considered 99% car territory, and traffic/congestion/commuting around…

The first time I'd ever heard of BART was when one of it's officers killed Oscar Grant.

I couldn't see myself ever wanting to take that mode of transportation.

Re: The US has forgotten how to do infrastructure

#513

Post by abalashov »

atemerev wrote: post #500
abalashov wrote: post #432

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I recently wrote a lengthy counterpoint to that: https://likewise.am/2017/05/19/in-response-to-the-cult-of-re...

I am a consultant in a small team of professionals, right. However, for me, "learning on the job" comes mostly from solving problems, not talking to people. Which is why I steered to consultant / R&D positions. And I had no problems in acquiring said knowledge (in trading systems) on my own.

If you are an independent and highly skilled professional who knows the business, you can definitely work remotely. Good for you!

But that's a far cry from, "Why do information workers need company offices at all, ever?"

Re: The US has forgotten how to do infrastructure

#514

Post by mason240 »

phil21 wrote: post #189
mason240 wrote: post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're free to live how you choose, but don't force others to live how you see fit.

Exactly. Folks who prefer public transit have been forced to live in car culture by folks who fund roads at the expense of pretty much every other form of transportation. In many cases very unethically so. Due to the societal and environmental effects, I think it's pretty clear roads should be in no way subsidized like they currently are. If the "suburbs" had to carry their full economic costs, they would be unafford…

Mass transit is so heavily subsidized that if had to carry it's full economic costs, it would be unaffordable.

The light rail lines in my state (MN) don't even make enough from fares to cover their day-to-day operating costs, much less maintenance, and of course tax payers were 100% on the hook for initial construction - with a large chunk of the money coming from automobile taxes.

So yes, I would be fine with the costs of roads coming more directly from the people using them, but then we are going to do the same with transit. Deal?

Re: The US has forgotten how to do infrastructure

#515

Post by FiatLuxDave »

dTal wrote: post #236
noonespecial wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a huge reason the Apollo program succeeded as well. Everyone accepted the fact that the astronauts might not be coming back.

That's quite different. The astronauts were small in number and accepted the risks for themselves. It's not as if hundreds of contractors died building the Saturn V itself.

No, the numbers were much smaller:

http://afspacemuseum.org/ccafs/fatalities/

Re: The US has forgotten how to do infrastructure

#516

Post by chrisabrams »

kodablah wrote: post #508
serhei wrote: post #415

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Longest? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DART_Light_Rail -> System Length 93 mi (150 km) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trams_in_Melbourne -> System Length 160 miles (250 kilometres) However, your point that the decentralization plays a difference is very valid. The Melbourne network is a dense grid which serves a much more compact area whereas the Dallas system consists of a small number of lines that stretch very far…

Tramways such as Melbourne's are a bit different in definition [0]. 0 - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_rail vs https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tram

Having played Mini Metro for over 100 hours, I can attest that a light rail and a tram are not the same ;)

Re: The US has forgotten how to do infrastructure

#517

Post by jonknee »

int_19h wrote: post #477
jonknee wrote: post #302

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's privatized, but not private like you would think of in the US. For example, insurers aren't allowed to profit off of the basic insurance everyone is required to get, they can only profit off of expanded coverage. They also have Medicare-style price controls which is obvious, but not private in the sense we use in the US.

So basically the big reason why it succeeds where ACA does not is because it regulates the prices?

That along with a real mandate and the fact that Switzerland is a tiny place (similar in population as Virginia, though 1/3 the physical size).

Re: The US has forgotten how to do infrastructure

#518

Post by [deleted] »

Johnny555 wrote: post #464
lawpoop wrote: post #462

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There has to be a name for this-- Godwin's corollary , or something. FWIW, people living in poor rural areas, the rust belt, Reservations, etc. are surviving, true, but doing so in conditions that aren't quite first-world.

You mean the kind of people that can't afford a car, yet are stuck in decaying suburbia that can't afford to keep up infrastructure and where it's hard to provide social services to a far-flung population? People for whom the American dream of a car for everyone has left them stuck in one place when they can't afford that car. People that need an expensive car because it's the only way to get to their far-flung job,…

[deleted]

Re: The US has forgotten how to do infrastructure

#519

Post by lawpoop »

Johnny555 wrote: post #464
lawpoop wrote: post #462

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There has to be a name for this-- Godwin's corollary , or something. FWIW, people living in poor rural areas, the rust belt, Reservations, etc. are surviving, true, but doing so in conditions that aren't quite first-world.

You mean the kind of people that can't afford a car, yet are stuck in decaying suburbia that can't afford to keep up infrastructure and where it's hard to provide social services to a far-flung population? People for whom the American dream of a car for everyone has left them stuck in one place when they can't afford that car. People that need an expensive car because it's the only way to get to their far-flung job,…

Yes.

Re: The US has forgotten how to do infrastructure

#520

Post by deong »

jimmyk wrote: post #341
deong wrote: post #337

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They're implemented, but the rise of the SuperPAC after Citizens United more or less makes the regulations pointless. I can't contribute more than $2700 to a campaign, but I can contribute $27,000,000 to a PAC that requires only the thinnest imaginable separation from the campaign. Basically, as long as the candidate isn't on TV personally endorsing my check, we're good.

What is your alternative to the Citizens United ruling?

I wasn't suggesting I had one. I'm just pointing out that SuperPACs get around pretty much any meaningful prior attempts at regulating campaign contributions.

I don't think there is an alternative. What is needed in order to solve the problem is a complete overhaul of how campaigns are financed, including making quite a lot of currently protected speech illegal. And that cure may be worse than the disease. Without it though, politicians will continue to require massive quantities of private cash, and I don't see any way to make that not suck for the country as a whole.

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