Highway bill= socialism & sprawl

[Deep13]

I was listening to a call-in program on NPR the other day oin the recently passed transportation bill. People calling in support kept talking about how their towns were growing and needed bridges and new roads to assist growth. As someone who sees population growth as a kind of national cancer, I found this appalling. What is more is that in a speech, Dumbass said that the bill would be good for the economy because it would put people to work in high-paying jobs. That sounds an awful lot like the reason behind the Civilian Conservation Corps and the National Recovery Act. I was under the impression from listening to neocons that only the private sector can make wealth and that government just gets in the way. Oh well.

[zanne]

1. The CCC and National Recovery Act did help alot of people...

I don't know why you equate that with Socialism, which is an entirely different thing. I don't know much about the transportation bill, but I wanted to comment on the fact that putting people to work at decent wages is not Socialism.

[Deep13]

2. It sure is a different tune for the Rs.

The Rs purport to be for small government. Invariably, they equate "big government" with socialism. My remarks were not intended to criticise the New Deal, but to point out how quickly the R values got by the board when it suits them.

[T Roosevelt]

4. It simply demonstrates their hypocrisy regarding the use of government

[dcfirefighter]

3. It is kind of socialist

but, building roads, highways and bridges generally gives a few landowners a huge increase in wealth, while allowing industries dependent on cheap transportation (and use of oil) an economic boon as well.

Population growth is inevitable, and should be good (at least in the US, where, believe it or not, we have the resources to support a larger population). It should be good because it provides our country with more labor and more customers - it's NOT good only because our tax laws favor economic returns to capital and landownership over economic returns to labor. If we were to fix our tax laws, we'd have full employement, low to non-existent inflation, and conservation of natural resources (including green space and agricultural lands).

Look into the Green Tax shift, and Land Value Taxation.

[Deep13]

5. Can't agree on population.

I don't thimk we have the resources and it is only good for the economy because we are exploiting cheap immigrant labor and cheap energy resources. It is not sustainable. I see sprwl everywhere. I really don't want this whole country looking like the north east.