Comments by "john" (@Pistolita221) on "Will A High Speed Rail Network Ever Be Built In The U.S.?" video.
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@mrjazz2570 "What about maybe electrifying cars?"
Lithium-ion cars batteries are terrible. Imagine if every car made 1-2 tons of toxic, hazardous waste every 2-10 years? Also, it's a lot of mining, in addition to the waste. Many rare earth elements associated or alternatives to lithium are found evenly dispersed, so they have to mine multiple times the amount of soil they need to get the elements they need.
"I read that the first segment of the california rail is to be completed by next year, which i am pretty excited about (the project already has started, there is no reason to finish it)."
The construction contractor is the husband of the woman in office signing the checks, it's a tale as old as time, corruption and nepotism.
"Also, if i may ask, how did you find it to cost 17 million dollar per mile to build?"
China builds their HSR for 17 million dollars per mile. Japan is somewhere around 30. And before you say 'but they're china, we can't compete with them!' remember, we're america, we can compete with anyone.
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@mrjazz2570 It doesn't cost 100 million a mile, it costs 17 million a mile (for other nations), America is just to corrupt to do anything. The republicans don't even want to have public roads anymore. This nation is dead in the water, our military isn't even helpful against china.
I'm sure it'd pay for itself within a decade, but we'll never know until after it's built. It opens up new labor markets, especially for the lowest paid workers.
I agree, there's no way you can wring 15k out of the average rail passenger, but isn't that sort of the point? A cheaper alternative? Planes and cars are more expensive, dangerous and dirty. Rail is safe, clean efficient, and oh so comfortable. If you've never been on HSR, it's like magic, i went 200mph and didn't feel or sound like i was even moving, so tranquil it was UNREAL.
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@FlyByWire1 "Pricing of economic inputs like resources and labor will inherently be different."
Indeed, that's why I picked Germany, they have unions build their roads, just like the USA, to make the price comparison more accurate.
"Not to mention that 4 to 6 million is most likely an average of the entire US which is much larger than Germany."
This does not mean what you think it means, cause we're comparing mile for mile. And also, if anything, that would give the US an economy of scale, driving prices down. Or have I missed something?
"Also, you seem to be confused about the relationship between currency valuations and prices. In rich economies like the US and Germany, prices are influenced primarily by supply and demand, not currency valuation."
Once again, we're comparing oranges to clementine's, not apples to oranges. You just agreed they're similar economies (in a lot of ways).
"The currency exchange markets exist for a reason: they tell us exactly what the value of currency A in relation to another currency. 1 USD currently equals 0.93€ which is the strongest the USD has been against the euro in the last decade. So that currency exchange rate alone tells us the USD’s value isn’t inflated at all."
A record high isn't a sign of inflation? Really? Tell that to the dot com boom.
"Inflation in the EU is also reaching records, just like everywhere else in the world. It has nothing to do with Biden or any specific policies."
I agree with you, Biden isn't at fault, and it is indeed larger than the US economy. I don't think it's effecting asian countries as much as western ones, though.
"So in conclusion, you are confusing two concepts with each other and thinking they logically are connected when economically it’s a little more complex than it seems."
So, you're saying I'm confusing inflation with purchasing power? I suppose I haven't been as clear as I should have been with my language, but I don't think the concept I'm trying to communicate is incorrect. The USA's GDP seems over-valued, relative to our PPP, when comparing it to other nations.
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@FlyByWire1 To help illustrate how the USA's dollar is inflated, compare the price of US government expenditure to germany. Assuming similarly efficient construction and similar products, the cost should be close to the same. It costs the US 4-6 million to make 1 mile of highway, it costs germany 1.6 million to build one mile of the autobahn. If we were to assume they're two comparable products, and that the USA is using similarly efficient machines to build them, then the US dollar is 1/2 to 1/3 the value of the Euro, if I'm being generous. You can make the same comparisons when looking at rail, sewage, social safety nets, military equipment, and more. Please, explain to me how current PPP calculations can be accurate with differences like this in pricing.
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@FlyByWire1 "that’s not how that works my friend. When we compare GDP across currencies, we use what’s called purchasing power parity. What the PPP calculation does is it levels the playing field between currencies so that the value of one currency is equal to the value of the other."
Ok, lol. They do PPP averaging, like they do inflation calculations, weighted in their favor. You wait until the global economic system kicks the petrodollar as a necessity of responding to climate change in the next 5 years and then tell me if my assertions about chinese manufacturing being undervalued and the US being overvalued are correct or not.
"So no, your 100% incorrect."
We've lost a lot of international trust over the last decade and a lot of international good faith over the last 50 years with our foreign interventions both overt and covert. The insurrection, the inflation from a lack of Chinese goods, our crumbling infrastructure, etc. is catching the globe's attention, the writing is on the walls: China is the next superpower, there's an argument to be made they've already usurped the USA. We're losing the space-race to mine rare earth elements to China. China will be the one to build infrastructure bridging the EU with Asia via their HSR standard, much like the US rail standard built the 20th century. You should see Ray Dalio's 'Principals for Dealing with a Changing World Order', so you don't get caught unaware. US bitcoin devaluation is a sign of the times, the next currency is going to be blockchain, but it won't be democratized like bitcoin, so the testbeds are winding down.
" I don’t need to research these things when I have two degrees in economies"
You've been to college, sorry 'university'? Why'd you call it degrees in economies instead of economics? Not the most convincing way to phrase that, is it? imo, there's a lot of indoctrination in higher education, they have to help gain support for the government. It's not the best place to learn a complete and accurate view on global systems, and the globe and 21st century logistics are very much global enterprises. That's not to say the entire system is bad, you learn the language, networking, the mechanisms and makers, etc. but it's got a nationalist slant to it.
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@easternshore8367 The first university was founded in africa before 789AD. Africans collapsed the European economy via salt trade, Europeans who were living in mud huts until the 1800's. Rome wasn't a white nation, they were Philistines, or Palestinians, see Palatine Hill. They had as many African emperors as they had Germanic, unless you include the post collapse Holy Roman Empire (which was not a continuation, was not roman, nor holy nor an empire). The proper roman empire actually considered africans to be the most intelligent, and the germans to be ignorant brutes, with the Philistinian Romans the happy middle ground, possessing both the intellect of the africans and the strength of the Danes. The Thracians were as much Philistinian as they were Danish. Do you even know who the Thracians were? Europe was civilized through contact with Indians and Persians (an offshoot of the Indians, or Harappan civilization, more accurately). There's a pretty good chance that europe only colonized america as a reaction to african colonization in the West Indies. And what did you do with this natural bounty? Clear cut it, cut it just to be rid of the forest, not even for farming. You wasted this continent in 300 years, africans have been in africa forever and there are still elephants, civilizations rising and falling around them. Africans were the first ones to work with iron, and the first to make it on an industrial scale, over 4,000 years ago. Gana's capital city's planning was a marvel of the world until colonization. You're illiterate, I get that. I wish we lived in a world where you were more literate as well, but here's some knowledge for you to cram into that Danish peabrain, for ya. Demon and Dane come from the same root word, BTW and it's a Hindu word, that should let you know where your kind fit into this tapestry of humanity.
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@markarmage3776 you clearly don't know much about the USA. Most people would love a tap to pay system where they're transported seamlessly across the countryside. Detroit, Pittsburgh, Charlotte, Atlanta, Nashville, Louisville, Indianapolis, st Louis, Cincinnati, Chicago, Minneapolis, Oklahoma city, Kansas City, New Orleans, Albuquerque, Denver, Phoenix, Salt Lake City and Las Vegas. People aren't taking HSR to connect the cities because there's nothing else like it, but once it will change the way we live.
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@blackhole9961 "with how American cities were different planned and built, public transit is unlikely to get you anywhere efficiently, which is why you still need a car."
That's not really true, the downs-thompson paradox unequivocally proves that all cities with traffic need mass transit solutions. And the few larger cities that are spread out enough that they have less traffic won't be able to maintain their infrastructure like clean and waste water, bridges and tunnels, they don't generate enough tax revenue to cover their infrastructure expenses, and have a competitive economy.
"That’s essentially no different than just flying."
Exactly, HSR averaging 200MPH is faster than driving for distances over 90 miles, and faster than flying (because of parking, security, luggage claim, etc.) that gives HSR a 1.5 hr head start, making it faster for distances under 600 miles. But at 350mph, of which Japanese have hundreds of miles of track can they are faster for distances up to 1,200 miles, making the trip (including ticket, boarding, and leaving for HSR) in 4.43 hrs, while the plane would take 4.5hrs. SC MagLev tech is also basically experimental superconductor experimentation, which is the applied physics of the future so it's a good field to be the leader of. The theoretical top speed of maglev systems is much higher than ICE systems, because gas expansions has a much lower ceiling than electric ones. Once the 2nd gen HSR is under less civilian traffic it can be used for industry, cutting produce shipping times in half, and better than half the longer the distance, because trains stop less than trucks, and are exponentially faster than ships, while HSR is competitive with truck shipping prices, but expect the HSR shipping costs to only decrease over time as the tech becomes more widely adopted (thus industry of scale pricing), while trucks are severely limited by fuel pricing.
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@darrylgonzalez5727 "Privately run high speed rail benefits only those who ride it,"
HSR doesn't benefit everyone? I hope you're not involved in any decision making, cause that's patently false. You've clearly never heard of the downs thompson paradox, which states traffic is only as fast as the fastest alternative, be it biking, walking or mass transit. HSR also allows people to work in different job markets, without using a car, helping improve living standards.
"and it literally takes DECADES for a high speed rail system to become profitable once it is built."
Infrastructure isn't supposed to make money. Do fire fighters make money b fighting fires? Is the incentive structure for police and road comissioners to pad the bottom line for the shareholders; no. It's to provide an essential service for citizens. But for the record, HSR makes money. It makes money in europe and asia, though that's not the purpose of infrastructure.
"What I object to is the taking of private property for use by a private company when the owner of said property has stated that they do not want to sell."
Cry me a river, I don't care about your fefe's, this is an emotional argument, and I won't entertain it beyond this.
"I understand that the Fifth Amendment provides for eminent domain authority, but I contend that the idea that this should extend to a private company is unconscionable."
I agree with you, transportation infrastructure is for the public good and therefore should be run by the government, so it's not designed to make a profit, but provide freedom of movement.
"Roads create a caste system?"
Yes they do, ever hear of "driving while black" stop and frisks? Have you ever been advised to submit to police searches of your vehicle whether they have just cause or not? You're not aware that cheaper cars are pulled over more frequently? And once you get that ticket, your insurance, which you legally have to have goes up in priced, forming a caste system, by any other name.
"What can you do on a commuter rail system? Ride the train (IF you can afford a ticket)."
Exactly, you just get where your going, no gambling with LEO's, cause they can't stop the vehicle. And everyone can afford train tickets, they're the cost of gas, plus you don't need the initial investment of 10k to get a reliable vehicle, no insurance or maintenance, either. Freedom from those expenses, and the ability to avoid police interactions.
"I can do most of my own vehicle maintenance."
Anecdotal, not relevant to the discussion of how to move 340 million americans.
"Insurance is affordable."
Maybe in your state.
"I would agree (in principle, I've never ridden one) that the Japanese high speed rail trains are wonderful. So too are the TGVs."
HSR is fantastic, once you're up to speed, you're moving without the sensation of moving, no vibrations, no wind noise, no engine noise, nothing at all. The cabin is always correctly pressurized, because they don't have to maintain air pressure. Since the engine is electric, and away from you and the wind is broken 100ft ahead of you there's no wind noise, and for distances between 90 and 600 miles, HSR is faster than cars or planes. The fastest trains can reach 375mph, if they averaged 350 they would be faster than planes for distances up to 1,200 miles. There's no TSA, no luggage claims or bag checking, which is what makes HSR faster than planes.
"But landowners shouldn't be forced to sell their land, or any part of it, simply so that others can have a nice and comfortable ride, and some greedy executives somewhere can MAYBE SOMEDAY make a lot of money off of it."
HSR is an issue of national defense, we need to have 21st century infrastructure in order to be able to maintain sovereignty. Our freight rail standard is what gave us our rise to prominence on the international stage. We're seeding 21st century rail to China and Japan. And also, it should be managed by Amtrak, not a private company, IDK why you keep claiming that's my position; it's not.
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@darrylgonzalez5727 " Incredible then how we've built the world's strongest military without it."
Ah, you think I'm talking about a combat use scenario? no, total war, and even direct action (black ops and strategic bombing, and even some forms of in person espionage) are basically 20th century tactics, in other words, they need to be retired. I'm talking about economic and electronic national defense and sovereignty. China is the most powerful country in the world, not because of their military, but because of their economy and most importantly, their manufacturing. We can't invade china, they make too many things we need, there will never be direct or important proxy wars fought against china, only economic and electronic (attacking the grid). Imagine if American manufacturers were contracted because american HSR standards were the best? What if we were chosen to be the infrastructure that links asia and europe? Billions of dollars of foreign investment, a hand in the design and construction of dozens of nations infrastructure, and once you choose a rail standard, you have to keep it. That's guaranteed income, for decades. The information, money, and strategic advantages are immense to shaping other nations transit systems; and those tactics are the future of war, not nuclear bombs. Also, allowing people to have access to more job opportunities makes your economy more flexible. What if, to function in the global economy, rapid transit becomes even more essential than it is today, and to function in the late 21st century we need HSR to move millions of people thousands of miles in a few hour or days, with regularity, and we don't have the capabilities to build it ourselves? Do we allow another nation to design and built this essential infrastructure? Seems like a national security and sovereignty issue to seed that sort of control and information to a foreign power. HSR has commercial applications, too. Eventually it can be used to ship fresh produce, so it can be picked closer to peak ripeness, increasing nutritional content per acre of land and gallon of water. It'll also become essential for other shipping needs, since atomic clocks are cheap enough to fit into factories, HSR adds to the production speed gains, making us more competitive per acre of land used, an important metric for governments. HSR, and specifically SC MagLev is also an important field to be researching, because we're exiting the fossil fuel era and internal combustion era, and entering the electromagnetic era. SC MagLev subsidizes railgun research, it subsidizes carrier jet takeoff systems, it subsidizes future electric motor research, and all related fields, even medicine like MRI's; and those are just the known unknowns, who knows how many unknown unknowns there are to this emerging field of study. And we're seeding that ground to Asia. This is a national defense and economic sovereignty issue. If we want to be scientifically competitive, and have competitive manufacturing, we need to invest in SC MagLev, heavily.
" The reason I mention this specifically is because we in Texas are currently fighting a battle against Texas Central Railway, a supposedly private company with ties to Japan Central Railway. They are asserting that they, a private company, have eminent domain authority and are attempting to secure the land to build a Shinkansen rail line between Dallas and Houston."
Well I'm not in favor of for profit infrastructure, public services or utilities. It's like handing a corporation a gun and telling them they're allowed to rob people, so long as the shareholders get a cut of the action, not a sustainable system, and also extremely easy for foreign actors to infiltrate, as foreign investment is a goal of all corporations. We all know money buys influence. For profit essential services is extortion with window dressing. You'll die without this insulin, you say? Well, prices just went up.
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