The chinese people are not being screwed, they are being lifted out of poverty in the socialist manner, I expect there are more millionaires in China than in the US. It is true they rush to invest in other places. Did you see that Trump has a plan to attract the best and brightest to US universities and residence? This will shore up the finances of those hallowed institutions. I'm wondering when Trump will announce his own belt and road initiative, you could lift the americas out of poverty and solve a few problems. A very fast train to Rio would be an executant start

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Did you see that Trump has a plan to attract the best and brightest to US universities and residence

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That should always be the number one visa priority .

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A very fast train to Rio would be an executant start

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a known failure of a policy . Trains were 19th and early 20th century technology . I can't believe how many people buy into this 'fast train ' panacea .

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Originally Posted by tomder55

That should always be the number one visa priority .

a known failure of a policy . Trains were 19th and early 20th century technology . I can't believe how many people buy into this 'fast train ' panacea .

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I think you miss the point, railways move freight quickly and economically, and where there are populations who don't have a romance with the automobile they are an effective means of transport. Take the train and hire a car at your destination. If there was a direct rail route I would use the car less, but then I grew up with trains, some people didn't

Clete we can barely take care of the old ragedy crumbling roads, bridges, and schools we have now, let alone think about new trains. If you can't blow something up, it's not even a budgetary consideration, especially if a few cents of raising tax dollars are concerned.

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Originally Posted by talaniman

Clete we can barely take care of the old ragedy crumbling roads, bridges, and schools we have now, let alone think about new trains. If you can't blow something up, it's not even a budgetary consideration, especially if a few cents of raising tax dollars are concerned.

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This stems from the idea that disbursement of power and responsibility is a desirable thing, but reality says that the locals don't have the resources. I would have thought roads, bridges, rail would be strategic infrastructure but your focus is on projecting power elsewhere. You criticise us for not having large military forces but we do have the ability to move around an area as large as the US without expecting parts of the system to fall down. Taxes are a means to an end, not an end in themselves and we are not burdened with local taxes. I was astounded when you indicated the size of your local taxes

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This stems from the idea that disbursement of power and responsibility is a desirable thing, but reality says that the locals don't have the resources. I would have thought roads, bridges, rail would be strategic infrastructure but your focus is on projecting power elsewhere. You criticise us for not having large military forces but we do have the ability to move around an area as large as the US without expecting parts of the system to fall down.

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The system of transportation in the U.S. is very good. The idea of allocating responsibilities to the states has worked extremely well. There is the occasional breakdown, but considering that we have almost fifteen times the population of the Aussies, and a population that is spread out over most of the country as opposed to being concentrated in a relatively small area, it is great.

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Originally Posted by jlisenbe

The system of transportation in the U.S. is very good. The idea of allocating responsibilities to the states has worked extremely well. There is the occasional breakdown, but considering that we have almost fifteen times the population of the Aussies, and a population that is spread out over most of the country as opposed to being concentrated in a relatively small area, it is great.

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Your population has been able to spread out because of the abundance of water, our population would have grown like yours if such resources existed but we have no great rivers draining the continent, the one long river system we have hardly has water in it in some places and it is not navigable, so our people live where water resources exist. You may be able to make the desert bloom but we cannot. However, with the land we have, we have done well, exporting food to the world as well as minerals. You should examine what a few determined people are capable of. One the one hand you lament your collapsing infrastructure and on the other hand, you say it is good. Make up your mind, then your politicians might be able to direct the resources to where you say it is needed. Your remarks demonstrate you don't understand our geography and the fact that we have large areas designated for native populations which are sparsely populated and undeveloped

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However, with the land we have, we have done well, exporting food to the world as well as minerals. You should examine what a few determined people are capable of.

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I absolutely commend you. You have, indeed, done well as have we. I do get tired of your nonstop criticism. I think you have enough problems in your own country to occupy your attention.

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One the one hand you lament your collapsing infrastructure and on the other hand, you say it is good. Make up your mind

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I have not lamented a collapsing infrastructure. Someone else might have, but I have not. I live in one of the poorest states, but our roads, bridges, rail lines, and airports are in good shape. Overall, our country's infrastructure is good, or at least it is as far as I'm aware.

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Originally Posted by jlisenbe

I have not lamented a collapsing infrastructure. Someone else might have, but I have not. I live in one of the poorest states, but our roads, bridges, rail lines, and airports are in good shape. Overall, our country's infrastructure is good, or at least it is as far as I'm aware.

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You should talk to Tal he has a different opinion

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Originally Posted by talaniman https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/images...post-right.png
Clete we can barely take care of the old ragedy crumbling roads, bridges, and schools we have now

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Tal and I have a different opinion on something??? Shocking!

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railways move freight quickly and economically,

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there is a nominal difference in cost and if you took in the infrastructure costs to making every town able to receive cargo by rail I'm willing to bet the cost becomes a disadvantage . There are very few cities in the US that have sufficient rail yards that could receive freight . Cities like NY only have rail for passenger movement . So you still have to add in the cost of road freight into your calculation because rail does not provide "to dock" or door to door service .

Here is NY infrastructer costs more because the price is inflated due to various corruptions. I travel to South Carolina sometimes .For the same money we use to patch pot holes ,they are building new roads and bridges .Imagine to infrastructure costs to build big freight hubs all across the nation where only a few exist now .

Even where they do exist ,it is a nightmare . Anyone from Chi town can tell you the horror of being around the 71s Street crossing where some people in cars wait up to 20 minutes for trains to pass. The gate at that junction is down sometimes 2 hours a day ..

Panama Canal is widened .Many cities on the east coast are dredging to be able to accept larger freighter . Sea transportation is still the best way to move large volumes of freight …..well that and pipelines for oil liquid gas and water .

We are talking trillions over years whatever the infrastructure plan is but states are struggling with their own infrastructure needs like broadband and the costs of fixing potholes in Mississippi, How about widening I-20 for gosh sakes JL?

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and the costs of fixing potholes in Mississippi, How about widening I-20 for gosh sakes JL?

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Potholes are not a major problem here, or at least not that I know of other than in our capital city which is run by a bunch of incompetent liberal democrats with the result that the people with money are fleeing the city along with their tax monies.

As to I-20, why would we want to widen it? I drive it frequently and I have never thought that it needed to be widened other than in the Jackson area where, you guessed it, it was widened several years ago.

Use to be the main drag when I visited peeps in the east. Terrible drive, worse at night. Glad they widened it though.

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Use to be the main drag when I visited peeps in the east. Terrible drive, worse at night. Glad they widened it though.

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I've driven a lot of interstate. 99% of them are good or better. The ones in our state are very good. They are repaving now in our city though the existing condition was not really a problem.

All the states have some form of leveraging their state budgets for projects both new and old and maintanance of existion infrastructure is an ongoing thing, be it potholes or just normal wear from the weather or usual traffic. Big trucks are brutal on roads.

if it isn't tankers in the Gulf it is tankers in the mediterranian, this may be the era of the tanker wars

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All the states have some form of leveraging their state budgets for projects both new and old and maintanance of existion infrastructure is an ongoing thing, be it potholes or just normal wear from the weather or usual traffic. Big trucks are brutal on roads.

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Then you have douches like il duce Andrew Cuomo who can't economically build a 2 mile rail project .

https://nypost.com/2019/07/02/the-la...site%20buttons

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if it isn't tankers in the Gulf it is tankers in the mediterranian, this may be the era of the tanker wars

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it is legit to seize blockade runners