The US wasted trillions on warfare period -- they could have just not spent it, and either not run up the debt or left that money in private hands.
Jack Ma: US wasted trillions on warfare instead of investing in infrastructure
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Re: Jack Ma: US wasted trillions on warfare instead of investing in infrastructure
#22[flagged]
Yup. At least in the US we use our infrastructure. In China they build stuff just to build stuff.
This kind of blind exceptionalism is exactly why nothing ever moves here. We are stuck in 30 years ago of "we're so much better than everyone" that we're refusing to see how our lead has quickly worsened, and also attacking the messenger's background instead of taking the message to heart.
I think we're still leaders in education, for example, but that's under threat.
China has built thousands of miles of high speed rail in the past 10 years, and the people are using it like CRAZY. There are months-long waits if you want to take the Beijing-Lhasa train, for example.
Yes there's definitely what you're talking about. But I'd rather be lamenting overbuilding than the lethargic underbuilding (or no-building) we have going on in the US.
Re: Jack Ma: US wasted trillions on warfare instead of investing in infrastructure
#23The reason why China is spending a lot more on infrastructure than the U.S. is because they didn't have a lot of infrastructure to begin with and if they want some they have to build it. The U.S. already has most (not all) of the infrastructure we need. A lot of what we need to build is to replace existing infrastructure which is getting old but technically still works. Comparing Chinese to American infrastructure sp…
Our roads are bad. We lack decent public transportation. Our internet speeds are slow and overly exspensive. We do not have most of the infrastructure we need. Jack Ma calls it warfare you call it defense. Whatever term you wish to use is fine with me. The trillions we spent on defense in Iraq and Afghanistan certainly was not well spent. We do have an obligation to defend the Ukraine against Russian attacks. That wa…
Part of that deal was also that Ukraine would not be part of the OTAN, but a firewall between the OTAN and Russia.
Re: Jack Ma: US wasted trillions on warfare instead of investing in infrastructure
#24Or health care. Or education.
Re: Jack Ma: US wasted trillions on warfare instead of investing in infrastructure
#25[flagged]
Yup. At least in the US we use our infrastructure. In China they build stuff just to build stuff.
In the last fifteen years, the Beijing subway went from a laughable toy with only three lines to the largest subway system in the world. Despite this rapid expansion by an order of magnitude, the system remains extremely busy, with rush hour trains so crowded you can barely move, and off-peak trains still full of people. This pattern is repeated all over the place. “Ghost cities,” if real, are the exception and not the norm.
Re: Jack Ma: US wasted trillions on warfare instead of investing in infrastructure
#26Jack Ma is exactly right.
We put a huge pile of money on the ground and lit it on fire killing a bunch of people in the process.
Maybe someone smarter than me can explain how this was a good idea but I just don't get it.
Re: Jack Ma: US wasted trillions on warfare instead of investing in infrastructure
#27The reason why China is spending a lot more on infrastructure than the U.S. is because they didn't have a lot of infrastructure to begin with and if they want some they have to build it. The U.S. already has most (not all) of the infrastructure we need. A lot of what we need to build is to replace existing infrastructure which is getting old but technically still works. Comparing Chinese to American infrastructure sp…
Our roads are bad. We lack decent public transportation. Our internet speeds are slow and overly exspensive. We do not have most of the infrastructure we need. Jack Ma calls it warfare you call it defense. Whatever term you wish to use is fine with me. The trillions we spent on defense in Iraq and Afghanistan certainly was not well spent. We do have an obligation to defend the Ukraine against Russian attacks. That wa…
The deal with Ukraine only requires us to defend them against nuclear attacks, and even then, the only requirement is to seek action in the UN. For conventional attacks, our only obligation is not to attack ourselves.
This is such a common misconception. I wonder where it came from. The Budapest Memorandum is short and understandable. Is this just a game of telephone gone badly wrong, or is there propaganda at work?
Re: Jack Ma: US wasted trillions on warfare instead of investing in infrastructure
#28[deleted]
Re: Jack Ma: US wasted trillions on warfare instead of investing in infrastructure
#29But will he say the same about the country that has the largest standing army?
So many lives wasted in dull duty.
Re: Jack Ma: US wasted trillions on warfare instead of investing in infrastructure
#30So is the 178 billion china has spent this year which is also growing faster than the US [0] also wasted then?
[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_Liberation_Army#Mil...