Re: The joy of actual numbers, was Democracy

rbowman <bowman@montana.com> wrote:

On Sat, 2 Nov 2024 21:25:34 -0000 (UTC), Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote:
 

On Sat, 2 Nov 2024 19:23:44 +0000, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
 

... high speed rail would suit the USA perfectly. Plenty of empty
space.

 
Countries that have got high-speed rail to work have another factor
besides empty space: the ability for the Government to work effectively
with private companies.
 
In the USA, there is this automatic assumption that the Government is
incompetent and not to be trusted.

 
The link I posted about the California High Speed Rail project bears that
put. Even in the 19th century when most of the US rail infrastructure was
built corruption was the catch of the day.
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cr%C3%A9dit_Mobilier_scandal
 
If you like dramas:
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell_on_Wheels_(TV_series)
 

Corruption is how things get done. To eliminate corruption government sets
up a bunch of rules, audits, checks, etc. This is supposed to make sure no
one gets away with anything, but also makes it hard to do anything at all.
I’m perfectly happy with a legislator, for example, who bends the rules a
bit, as long as he gets things done for his constituents. If a little cash
finds it’s way into his pockets in the process, I’m OK with that too. (We
had a guy like this, and the list of good stuff he accomplished would fill
a book)

--
Pete