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>This is the wheel of capitalism literally coming to a halt because the oligarchs are staring each other down waiting for someone to go first. This makes a lot
by aphextron 9y ago
>This is the wheel of capitalism literally coming to a halt because the oligarchs are staring each other down waiting for someone to go first.
This makes a lot of sense. I constantly get the feeling in the US that we don't actually "do" anything anymore. And I don't just mean manufacturing. You look around at the rest of the world and infrastructure programs are at the forefront of every expanding economy. China, India, Turkey. All pouring hundreds of billions into great works at home and abroad.
Where are the massive capital expenditures we saw in the 19th and 20th centuries? America has the largest population of highly skilled, financially endowed consumers on earth yet the most that any genius Venture Capitalist can figure out to do with these billions in free money from the fed is come up with a new skin for IRC.
- flashman 9y ago"The best minds of my generation are thinking about how to make people click ads," said Jeffrey Hammerbacher.
- blunte 9y agoFor the last decade, the "best minds" (by one common measure) have been going to hedge funds - helping a small group turn money into more money. It's not a sustainable strategy, and countries that take a different approach will eventually become the economic leaders.
- honestoHeminway 9y agoPeak Gametheory.
- thisrod 9y ago> Where are the massive capital expenditures we saw in the 19th and 20th centuries? Those expenditures are still around: they built the roads, runways and skyscrapers that we all use today. Why do developing countries spend a lot more on development than developed countries do? That's almost a tautology.
- theandrewbailey 9y agoA lot of the infrastructure we use today is so old that it's crumbling, and has been for years. Few people are interested in doing anything to fix it.
- JoeAltmaier 9y agoDuring the last administration, we had a fake 'shovel-ready' infrastructure program to boost economic growth. I say fake, because mostly very-visible PR projects such as changes to roads and parks got funded. Not real infrastructure such as sewer plants, under-street pumping stations, painting the underside of bridges and other invisible but essential projects that have been 'shovel-ready' for a decade but still undone. Biggest waste of public funds in a generation. And mostly used to build further infrastructure such as roads, burdening the maintenance budget even more. Instead of helping.
- coldpie 9y ago> Biggest waste of public funds in a generation A certain little jaunt through the middle east would like to have a word with you.
- JoeAltmaier 9y agoHa! But did that accelerate our maintenance backlog? Never mind the money; its about the physical infrastructure we've got to keep up.
- mason240 9y agoNearly all of that spending was simply added directly the national debt, very little actually came out of the general fund.
- sqeaky 9y agoSurely there are some negative side effects of more a trillion dollars of debt!
- atemerev 9y agoWe do not need any more infrastructure because there is _enough_ infrastructure. And material goods, for that matter. Do you want a limitless money sinkhole with largest positive externalities and quality of life effects? Try science.
- Broken_Hippo 9y ago"We do not need any more infrastructure because there is _enough_ infrastructure. And material goods, for that matter." .... Kind of, and much of what we have could be upgraded. Some folks can't get clean water out of their taps (lead!), some folks have really crappy internet (dial-up or otherwise slow speeds). I'm pretty sure some areas could use an electrical grid upgrade. Railroad tracks laid long ago now block traffic and some crossings have a lot of accidents, and could be rerouted (some communities have done so, such as lafayette, Indiana). Many of our bridges are in disrepair.
- atemerev 9y agoYes, but all those (except maybe internet) are routine maintenance-level tasks, as opposed to megaprojects.
- bluGill 9y agoThere are places around the edges that need major work. Our population is expanding, that means we need new houses for the new people. Once in a while houses burn down or is otherwise destroyed. Likewise water treatment plants need maintenance and upgrades, and sometimes we need a new one; but for the most part people have perfectly safe water. On the whole though there are a lot of perfectly good roads and houses that just need a little work to keep them up. It is better to not build more than we need. I could tear down my perfectly good 2000 sq ft house and build a 4000 square ft house - but my current house is big enough for my needs so I'd rather sit back and relax.
- mr_spothawk 9y ago> Where are the massive capital expenditures we saw in the 19th and 20th centuries? we have been at "war" for 15 years
- apexalpha 9y ago>You look around at the rest of the world and infrastructure programs are at the forefront of every expanding economy. China, India, Turkey. All pouring hundreds of billions into great works at home and abroad. So is the US government! They poured $1,4 trillion into Iraq and Afghanistan.
- flatfilefan 9y agoinsightful. care to explain what was the expected return on this investment?
- cableshaft 9y agoTo be greeted as liberators.
- chaosbutters314 9y agoNot the US government, but Elon's gigafactory and SpaceX are fairly large technological and manufacturing developments.