Mobility in America.

[kiwiman127]

Are you this delusional - you're talking about shit that happened 100+ years ago..

Those roads that WERE paved 75-100 years ago are all maintained by the states now - NOT the federal government.... Not to mention every road that was built in Illinois (outside federal land, such as military bases and national parks) were built via the tax revenue of the residents of Illinois - and the same goes for every state.

The federal government has NOTHING to do with building roads or bridges on state owned land...

Do you even recognize the difference between state and federal?????

BTW, why the fuck do you thing routes change from time to time when they're essentially the same road??? Oh yeah because they were paved by the state - not the federal government...

Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956: Creating the Interstate System

You poor, ignorant soul.

And who maintains those roads?

And who builds new roads?

The state and the state...

If a municipality wanted to build a fucking road who do you think pays for it dumb mutherfucker??? the federal government or the state????

Oh yeah that's right it's the state.....

A Florida resident doesn't pay to have roads paved in Hawaii.... Do you not get that dumb motherfucker???

OMG!!!!!
The United States Highway Trust Fund is a transportation fund which receives money from a federal fuel tax of 18.4 cents per gallon on gasoline and 24.4 cents per gallon of diesel fuel and related excise taxes.[1] It currently has three accounts, the Highway Account which funds road construction, a smaller 'Mass Transit Account' which supports mass transit and also a 'Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund'. It was established 1956 to finance the United States Interstate Highway System and certain other roads. The Mass Transit Fund was created in 1982. The federal tax on motor fuels yielded $28.2 billion in 2006.[2] In 2008 the fund required an additional $8 billion from general taxation due to reduced receipts from fuel tax in order to meet its obligations.
Highway Trust Fund - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Fed allocates money for each state for their highways, thusly the Fed, the state and local communities all pay for highways/roads.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is an agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation that supports State and local governments in the design.
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/

 

[kiwiman127]

The US should follow what many other countries are doing, private investment into our infrastructure. It's a win-win for taxpayers and our infrastructure.

Private investment for infrastructure
http://www.aei.org/article/economics/private-investment-for-infrastructure/

 

[AVG-JOE]

I figured that is where this thread was heading.

That's not the direction I want it to go.

I would prefer to discuss the insanity of spending two to five Billion dollars every election cycle just to seat a government while our competitors over seas are investing in their people and their economies.

We're lookin' pretty stupid from space, compared with our neighbors...

That is just standard moral equivalency stuff. The two items are not related, in reality.

And here I was thinkin' that it was my opinion... Some of y'all have labels EVERYthing!

 

[kiwiman127]

Whether some folks will admit it or not, our infrastructure is in dire straits. Not only for the present but also for the future as the usage of infrastructure is not even close to being ready for our population growth and the increased usage it will bring.

Engineers Give U.S. Infrastructure a 'D', Seek $2.2 Trillion in Stimulus: ASCE 2009 Infrastructure Report Card
Engineers Give U.S. Infrastructure a 'D', Seek $2.2 Trillion in Stimulus: ASCE 2009 Infrastructure Report Card - Popular Mechanics

 

[AVG-JOE]

Americans are by far THE most mobile people in history. Most of us have the means get from one coast to the other in a matter hours or days using various combinations of public, commercial and/or private transportation and infrastructure built and owned by We, The People.

Government is an integral part of that transportation network, and failure to address our outdated and crumbling publicly owned infrastructure will result in America falling behind our competitors economically. While we prepare to spend $2 billion + electing our next president, China and our other competitors are busy building infrastructure designed to get and keep their people moving.

If we don't start taking our competition seriously soon, we'll loose this game. Well, our kids will be the losers, righteously cussing us for generations.

States built the roads, private companies laid the train tracks (see Illinois Railroad), private companies operate buses, trains and airliners...

The federal government had nothing to do with our transit system(s)...

Tell that to Eisenhower!

 

[AVG-JOE]

And how many idiots read headlines about spending money, or denying projects, in order to preserve certain bugs & fish - - - - - - and get all mad and calling people idiots.....

before they actually study, and learn that certain said bugs and fish are necessary to keep said lands / waters fertile for growth..........

People are idiots.

People aren't idiots - they're greedy... and our current system rewards those who ask "What's in it for ME ME ME over the next quarter year?" instead of the more pragmatic "What's in it for my community over the next 4 generations?"

The problem with unregulated capitalism is that it focuses so much on the short term and not on the next generation.

The freedom for any given individual to focus on their current issues needs to be balanced by leadership focused on the next 50 years.

That is absolutely WRONG.....

Socialism focuses on the short term - capitalism focuses on growth, hence the long term...

Capitalism doesn't fail - Keynesian economics fail because socialism fails...

We built an empire on capitalism until Woodrow Wilson came a long and fucked everything up.

Good point. We need to do something about public education too.

 

[AVG-JOE]

Imagine New York City if the people living there in the 1800's did not have the vision and political will to build the public transportation system that made the city what it is today.

Right now a substantial portion of the worlds food supply comes from an area in southern California made fertile by public works projects that brought water to the desert. How much of California's economy was created out of thin air by just that one vision that received backing by public money?

It was true at one time that Southern Caifornia and Central California was a provider of a substantial portion of the world's food. However, once a liberal judge shut off the water to protect the delta smelt, those vast farms and orchards were forced to go fallow, the rich topsoil has long ago blown away in dust. The families who owned these farms lost them, the people who worked them are on welfare, and we got our produce from Chile instead.

The San Joaquin County Office of the Agricultural Commissioner disagrees... with numbers and data to back it up.

San Joaquin County - Office of the Agricultural Commissioner

 

[AVG-JOE]

Liberal logic.

Because the government built the interstate highway system (something it should do) the government gets to decide what kind of car you should drive, or even if you should drive at all (something it should not do).

Can you please provide a link to the post where someone said that? I'm having a hard time finding it.

Thank you so much!!

 

[AVG-JOE]

Home | U.S. Department of Transportation

There are other federal departments, if you are at all curious, but I doubt that curiousity is a way to describe your outlook.

And they don't do much on anything ...

I've never heard of a "federal road" unless its in a military compound or roads on federally owned land.

My state income taxes and property taxes (oh and tolls too) build roads NOT my federal taxes or the federal government.

This is COMMON KNOWLEDGE...

BTW learn how to spell "curiosity."

There's a reason it's called The Federal Highway System.
Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956: Creating the Interstate System

 

[Full-Auto]

Americans are by far THE most mobile people in history. Most of us have the means get from one coast to the other in a matter hours or days using various combinations of public, commercial and/or private transportation and infrastructure built and owned by We, The People.

Government is an integral part of that transportation network, and failure to address our outdated and crumbling publicly owned infrastructure will result in America falling behind our competitors economically. While we prepare to spend $2 billion + electing our next president, China and our other competitors are busy building infrastructure designed to get and keep their people moving.

If we don't start taking our competition seriously soon, we'll loose this game. Well, our kids will be the losers, righteously cussing us for generations.

Then have your State get off its ASS......................