| ▲ | jmyeet 2 hours ago | |
China is what happens when you put scientists and engineers in charge [1][2]. 20 years ago China had a single high speed rail link in Shanghai going to the airport. Now they have more than 30,000 miles of high speed rail where they've bootstrapped all the civil engineering, they make their own trains, etc. The system handles over 4 billion trips annually and they built the entire thing for an estimated $900 billion [3], which is now less than the US spends on the military in a single year. Every $1 you spend on the military is $1 you don't spend on housing, healthcare, education, roads, trains and other infrastructure. Eisenhower warned about this 60+ years ago [4]. [1]: https://en.clickpetroleoegas.com.br/All-of-China%27s-preside... [2]: https://www.economist.com/china/2023/03/09/many-of-chinas-to... [3]: https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/2152581/huge-668bn-high... [4]: https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/president-dwigh... | ||
| ▲ | raw_anon_1111 2 hours ago | parent [-] | |
On a semi related note, military leaders in the US have been warning about the dangers of the American deficit and have a long history of trying to cut waste by getting rid of weapons programs and military bases they don’t need but are constantly blocked by the civilian leadership in Congress because of the job loss. | ||