5 ms·

No, the regulators (who are indirectly appointed through the public) are allowing them to use govt-built roads to test their products. They don't have a direct

No, the regulators (who are indirectly appointed through the public) are allowing them to use govt-built roads to test their products. They don't have a direct obligation to you or any other citizen. I'd like them to release the video, but just be clear what you want, and best not to act like it is required of them.

SllX 3y ago
You are 100% correct. Waymo reports to the DMV, they do not report to you or me.
smt88 3y ago
The roads belong to taxpayers, not regulators. The regulators are supposed to work for us. Anyway, I'm talking about a moral or PR obligation, not a legal one. Waymo is using roads that taxpayers pay for, and that raises the bar for transparency for them.
- SllX 3y ago
  You would think so but no. Roads and highways belong to the State or Federal government (basically whoever built the damn thing). States and the Federal government are managed by an Elected government and their appointees, and are empowered to levy taxes. Taxpayers foot the bill, and some taxpayers are even citizens with the right to vote in elections. The whole “X belongs to the taxpayer” is crap rhetoric you and many many many Americans were raised on, but which does not accurately convey anything about your relationship with the roads and highways you use. We pay for them, we elect the people who are charged with managing the entity that does own them and employs people to build and maintain them, but we do not own them.
  - smt88 3y ago
    Yeah, again. I'm not talking about the legal framework, I'm not poorly educated on this subject as you condescendingly claim, and nothing you wrote affects my point. I'm saying that we pay for the roads, and the entities that legally own/maintain/control the roads are supposed to be under the control of our elected representatives. We own the roads in the sense that they are public spaces that we pay for. There is a moral obligation to transparency when benefitting from public resources, whether or not there's a legal one.

SllX 3y ago

You are 100% correct. Waymo reports to the DMV, they do not report to you or me.

smt88 3y ago

The roads belong to taxpayers, not regulators. The regulators are supposed to work for us. Anyway, I'm talking about a moral or PR obligation, not a legal one. Waymo is using roads that taxpayers pay for, and that raises the bar for transparency for them.

SllX 3y ago
You would think so but no. Roads and highways belong to the State or Federal government (basically whoever built the damn thing). States and the Federal government are managed by an Elected government and their appointees, and are empowered to levy taxes. Taxpayers foot the bill, and some taxpayers are even citizens with the right to vote in elections. The whole “X belongs to the taxpayer” is crap rhetoric you and many many many Americans were raised on, but which does not accurately convey anything about your relationship with the roads and highways you use. We pay for them, we elect the people who are charged with managing the entity that does own them and employs people to build and maintain them, but we do not own them.
- smt88 3y ago
  Yeah, again. I'm not talking about the legal framework, I'm not poorly educated on this subject as you condescendingly claim, and nothing you wrote affects my point. I'm saying that we pay for the roads, and the entities that legally own/maintain/control the roads are supposed to be under the control of our elected representatives. We own the roads in the sense that they are public spaces that we pay for. There is a moral obligation to transparency when benefitting from public resources, whether or not there's a legal one.