6 ms·

You’re saying the Japan is less technologically advanced than the US was in 1966? That seems like a stretch.

by Armisael16 7y ago

m0zg 7y ago
Overall, quite possibly yes. They do consumer electronics quite well, but their space program is a bit of a joke.
- mav3rick 7y ago
  Their trains kick the US' ass. So this metric is BS.
  - m0zg 7y ago
    Only because trains can't be operated at a profit in the US. We build planes instead, which go faster, and make money.
    - hodgesrm 7y ago
      Your statement about trains is not correct. US rail is optimized for transporting goods rather than people and overall does a good job. It is also quite profitable. For example, the Union Pacific 10-K shows a healthy profit for FY 2018. [0] One recent stat I found claimed that in the US 43% of freight travels by rail whereas in the EU it's only 10%. [1] European highways are consequently choked with trucks, something you notice pretty quickly if you drive in countries like Germany. It's easy to overlook, though, when traveling in one of their nice passenger trains. :) [0] https://www.up.com/cs/groups/public/@uprr/@investor/documents/investordocuments/pdf_up_10k_02082019.pdf https://www.up.com/cs/groups/public/@uprr/@investor/document... [1] https://ti.org/antiplanner/?p=11847 https://ti.org/antiplanner/?p=11847
      - m0zg 7y ago
        Congratulations, you've slayed a strawman. It's pretty clear both the OP and myself were talking about passenger trains, which in the US can't be operated at a profit.
        hodgesrm 7y ago
        It's apples to oranges. The US rail network is optimized to solve another problem. The evidence I've seen indicates that US freight transport by rail is among the most efficient in the world. It's hard to adduce it as an example of technical failure. Even on your terms of debate I think you need to cite evidence of overall profitability of passenger trains in other countries. Deutsche Bahn (DB) makes some money but depends on substantial subsidies from the German government. [0] Wikipedia shows that most passenger rail seems to be heavily subsidized, though interestingly not Japan. [1] [0] https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-deutsche-bahn-investment/german-taxpayers-to-inject-billions-to-shore-up-deutsche-bahn-idUKKCN11R1BV https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-deutsche-bahn-investment/g... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rail_subsidies https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rail_subsidies
    - mav3rick 7y ago
      What a shifting of goalposts. It's not Japan's problem that you can't make it profitable.

You’re saying the Japan is less technologically advanced than the US was in 1966? That seems like a stretch.

m0zg 7y ago

Overall, quite possibly yes. They do consumer electronics quite well, but their space program is a bit of a joke.

mav3rick 7y ago
Their trains kick the US' ass. So this metric is BS.
- m0zg 7y ago
  Only because trains can't be operated at a profit in the US. We build planes instead, which go faster, and make money.
  - hodgesrm 7y ago
    Your statement about trains is not correct. US rail is optimized for transporting goods rather than people and overall does a good job. It is also quite profitable. For example, the Union Pacific 10-K shows a healthy profit for FY 2018. [0] One recent stat I found claimed that in the US 43% of freight travels by rail whereas in the EU it's only 10%. [1] European highways are consequently choked with trucks, something you notice pretty quickly if you drive in countries like Germany. It's easy to overlook, though, when traveling in one of their nice passenger trains. :) [0] https://www.up.com/cs/groups/public/@uprr/@investor/documents/investordocuments/pdf_up_10k_02082019.pdf https://www.up.com/cs/groups/public/@uprr/@investor/document... [1] https://ti.org/antiplanner/?p=11847 https://ti.org/antiplanner/?p=11847
    - m0zg 7y ago
      Congratulations, you've slayed a strawman. It's pretty clear both the OP and myself were talking about passenger trains, which in the US can't be operated at a profit.
      - hodgesrm 7y ago
        It's apples to oranges. The US rail network is optimized to solve another problem. The evidence I've seen indicates that US freight transport by rail is among the most efficient in the world. It's hard to adduce it as an example of technical failure. Even on your terms of debate I think you need to cite evidence of overall profitability of passenger trains in other countries. Deutsche Bahn (DB) makes some money but depends on substantial subsidies from the German government. [0] Wikipedia shows that most passenger rail seems to be heavily subsidized, though interestingly not Japan. [1] [0] https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-deutsche-bahn-investment/german-taxpayers-to-inject-billions-to-shore-up-deutsche-bahn-idUKKCN11R1BV https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-deutsche-bahn-investment/g... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rail_subsidies https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rail_subsidies
  - mav3rick 7y ago
    What a shifting of goalposts. It's not Japan's problem that you can't make it profitable.