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Somehow this reminds me of the previous story on NY infrastucture ( https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/12/28/nyregion/new-york-subway-construction-costs.html?hp&ac

by nikanj 9y ago

Somehow this reminds me of the previous story on NY infrastucture ( https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/12/28/nyregion/new-york-subway-construction-costs.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=photo-spot-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&referer=https://news.ycombinator.com/ https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/12/28/nyregion/new-york-subw... ) We were able to both fund and construct these tunnels a century ago, but somehow they now seem hopelesly out of our reach.

jandrese 9y ago
Well yeah, we had to give that money to the "job creators". Presumably they will be stepping up to rebuild the infrastructure any day now.
- pstuart 9y ago
  Don't forget our military misadventures abroad -- they ain't cheap.
- pishpash 9y ago
  Job creators don't ride public transit, so they don't care. Having two parallel universes is a problem.
- wavefunction 9y ago
  They'll be selling us public/private infrastructure funded by the 1.5 Trillion USD levy on the deficit via the recent 'tax reform.'
djsumdog 9y ago
A couple of predator drones could probably pay for infrastructure repair. Probably a couple of overpriced Fighter Jets as well. Does America really need 10 ~ 11 active aircraft carriers? Most of our allies only have 1 or 2. War is a machine, and it is eating away at America. "Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. The cost of one modern heavy bomber is this: a modern brick school in more than 30 cities. It is two electric power plants, each serving a town of 60,000 population. It is two fine, fully equipped hospitals. It is some fifty miles of concrete pavement. We pay for a single fighter with a half-million bushels of wheat. We pay for a single destroyer with new homes that could have housed more than 8,000 people. . . . This is not a way of life at all, in any true sense. Under the cloud of threatening war, it is humanity hanging from a cross of iron." -Dwight D. Eisenhower "Here's what we can do to change the world, right now, to a better ride. Take all that money we spend on weapons and defenses each year and instead spend it feeding and clothing and educating the poor of the world, which it would pay for many times over, not one human being excluded, and we could explore space, together, both inner and outer, forever, in peace." -Bill Hicks
- rayiner 9y ago
  Transit systems in the US often are more heavily subsidized than in Europe. MTA recovers about half its operating expenses from fares. Atlanta’s MARTA is at 35%. London’s system recovers more than 100%.
  - splonk 9y ago
    I was really surprised to see that bit about London. It looks like Transport for London breaks out Underground usage, and that does recover over 100% (which is what ends up on the wikipedia page for farebox recovery), but the entire TfL system as a whole is around 60%. Starts around page 120 of http://content.tfl.gov.uk/tfl-annual-report-2015-16.pdf http://content.tfl.gov.uk/tfl-annual-report-2015-16.pdf
chmaynard 9y ago
I recently watched a fascinating documentary about the original Penn Station and the Manhattan tunnels, which were built entirely with private money by the Pennsylvania Railroad. Highly recommended. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/penn/ http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/penn/

by nikanj 9y ago

jandrese 9y ago

Well yeah, we had to give that money to the "job creators". Presumably they will be stepping up to rebuild the infrastructure any day now.

pstuart 9y ago
Don't forget our military misadventures abroad -- they ain't cheap.
pishpash 9y ago
Job creators don't ride public transit, so they don't care. Having two parallel universes is a problem.
wavefunction 9y ago
They'll be selling us public/private infrastructure funded by the 1.5 Trillion USD levy on the deficit via the recent 'tax reform.'

djsumdog 9y ago

A couple of predator drones could probably pay for infrastructure repair. Probably a couple of overpriced Fighter Jets as well. Does America really need 10 ~ 11 active aircraft carriers? Most of our allies only have 1 or 2. War is a machine, and it is eating away at America. "Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. The cost of one modern heavy bomber is this: a modern brick school in more than 30 cities. It is two electric power plants, each serving a town of 60,000 population. It is two fine, fully equipped hospitals. It is some fifty miles of concrete pavement. We pay for a single fighter with a half-million bushels of wheat. We pay for a single destroyer with new homes that could have housed more than 8,000 people. . . . This is not a way of life at all, in any true sense. Under the cloud of threatening war, it is humanity hanging from a cross of iron." -Dwight D. Eisenhower "Here's what we can do to change the world, right now, to a better ride. Take all that money we spend on weapons and defenses each year and instead spend it feeding and clothing and educating the poor of the world, which it would pay for many times over, not one human being excluded, and we could explore space, together, both inner and outer, forever, in peace." -Bill Hicks

rayiner 9y ago
Transit systems in the US often are more heavily subsidized than in Europe. MTA recovers about half its operating expenses from fares. Atlanta’s MARTA is at 35%. London’s system recovers more than 100%.
- splonk 9y ago
  I was really surprised to see that bit about London. It looks like Transport for London breaks out Underground usage, and that does recover over 100% (which is what ends up on the wikipedia page for farebox recovery), but the entire TfL system as a whole is around 60%. Starts around page 120 of http://content.tfl.gov.uk/tfl-annual-report-2015-16.pdf http://content.tfl.gov.uk/tfl-annual-report-2015-16.pdf

chmaynard 9y ago

I recently watched a fascinating documentary about the original Penn Station and the Manhattan tunnels, which were built entirely with private money by the Pennsylvania Railroad. Highly recommended. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/penn/ http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/penn/