...is a philosophical thought experiment which is not the purpose of this blog but could be used to introduce the topic I want to address - infrastructure. A subway train overpass in Mexico City collapsed yesterday with significant damage, not to mention loss of life. No doubt the sound was heard as there is no lack of people in that densely-populated city. The question is, as we debate President Biden's infrastructure proposal in the US, did we hear it? Are we listening? It's not as if we don't have our share of disasters attributable to crumbling infrastructure in this country. Opposition to Biden's proposal comes in many forms. Those in Congress who had no problem backing President Trump's spending on tax cuts for the rich and COVID relief for businesses are suddenly "fiscally responsible". This in spite of the fact that Trump's spending went mostly towards stock buy-backs and pumping up the stock market at the expense of the national deficit. And don't forget the wall, funded partly from the military budget which Mexico was going to pay for but inexplicably didn't. Compare that to Biden's proposal which would bring our infrastructure upto par while creating millions of jobs in the process. As to how it is to be paid for, given the low interest on US government debt and the large amounts of it held by China, why not let China pay for it? While China spends huge amounts of money on their "Belt & Road" initiative to extend their influence around the world, the least we can do is fix roads and bridges within our borders to make it possible for American enterprise and entrepreneurship to maintain our leadership in the 21st century. Opposition also comes in the form of insistence on a 20th century definition of infrastructure. Only Luddites would exclude high-speed internet from today's definition of infrastructure. The same people who decry the poor academic performance of American school kids are opposed to spending on universal high-speed internet access. The fact is that they are neither fiscally responsible nor are they Luddites. Their opposition is based on an unprincipled determination to oppose anything that may make Biden look successful. Remember Mitch McConnell's declaration that he would make Barack Obama a one-term president? Even McConnell can't bring himself to make a brazen statement like that vis-a-vis Biden in the wake of Trump's disastrous single term. While he and his fellow Republicans cannot openly say so, they seem to have concluded that their future depends on continuing to fool just enough of the people just enough of the time. Middle-of-the-roaders must be clear-eyed about what really matters when it comes to voting.
- drrama7