August 15th 2018
I haven’t invested in Tesla because of their proposed, “self driving cars,” but how do you feel about putting your life in the hands of an Ai chauffeur? And what are the implications of, “self driving vehicles,” moving forward?
Which is to say, "how will Tesla’s self driving cars operate through; rain, snow, or ice?" And why not trains? And furthermore, while I understand that train tracks often corrode… typically leaving subways in a constant state of maintenance… why not center mass transit around bullet trains, as opposed to self driving vehicles? (*Whereby, bullet trains can operate on magnets which then create less friction, in turn lowering the costs of re-occurring maintenance.) But also, what’s the difference between automated cars, vehicles that will likely end up snailing along icy roads anyway, perhaps at 10mph due to legal liability, as opposed to trains which can operate much faster, particularly in adverse weather conditions? Which is ultimately why I believe that a national train system could be more cost effective than automated vehicles.
And this issue falls into a larger spectrum of debates… primarily immersed in political corruption, particularly regarding, “highway pork spending,” for the better part of the last century. (*Online traffic leads to sales and seeing how people fight over internet traffic today, I can only imagine what happened in the 1950’s.) Whereby, today… and in retrospect… America’s mass transit system, perhaps more than any other issue… encapsulates micro-economics and the sort of iron triangle politics connected to Detroit automakers and Petroleum imports, for the better part of the last century.
Or more simply put, I don’t want to speculate on the history of America’s financing of public transit… but… “why go away from trains, in the first place?” And I wonder why that change initially occurred because Petroleum imports alone seem to more than double the costs of a nation-wide train system, even if that train system requires routine maintenance.
So, as opposed to modernized, “automated vehicles,” why not build trains instead? And is funding or track maintenance, really the issue?
But again, being 32 years old, growing up in (suburban) Detroit, hearing the rumors surrounding the auto industry for decades… I can merely speculate.
Regardless, I actually believe… that unknown political powers are seeking to keep the masses divided on this issue by intentionally creating a flawed mass transit system and criminal behavior which prolongs single vehicle ridership. And furthermore, in my opinion the real reason that we don’t have a nation-wide subway system and instead rely on automobiles today… is due to corruption. But more specifically, I believe that our state and federal governments refuse to build larger train systems because of politicized school zones and the issue of crime.
Whereby, in conclusion I believe that our leaders recognize the need for a nation-wide subway system, yet refuse to build one. And in fact, Cincinnati has an abandoned subway system that’s been half built for 40 years. However, I also believe that many Washington bureaucrats are aware of the advantages that a nationwide subway system presents, however, I also believe that these same leaders refuse to allow the poor (*in most states) access to public transit due to political juxtaposition! Nevertheless, this assumption is based upon the excessively high costs of Petroleum imports… versus the need for subways, moving forward and unfortunately, I feel like we’re going to be stuck with single serving vehicles, despite common sense economics, well into the 2000 century.
-William Larsen, Civilians News