USA News and Poland - Part 1

No debate there. We are broke, hence, no fast trains.
The fact that we are playing those giveaway games is both our stupidity and an explanation why Japan and the EU has more disposable cash for fast trains and such.

How in the hell did that happen?
How did the richest country in the world get broke?
And allow China,....China!
To catch them up?

I blame the horrible politicians of the past and also our kindness has been taken advantage of as well.

One example is NATO. We've payed for mostly everything whilst countries like German tried or did screw us over, until Trump came along.

Ill give you some more examples later:),

A very good question deserving a good faith answer which nobody would read because it would be too long.
The short one is: the founding fathers fu*k up really bad and wrote the US Constitution under the assumption that, in the future, others will be like them - honest and patriotic. A terrible mistake that led to the US being today an unmanageable pile of corrupt crap. I used this term before so I really mean it.


That, of course, made Trump a very bad dude. And "an idiot". Like in: I want more candy! No! You had enough. I hate you! You are a very bad mom!

I don't care what foreigners say about Trump, they're pissed off because the gravy train has stopped.

He's the President of the USA and is focused on our needs before so called free loading friends.

That's my position so I am trying to extract some honesty here. So far without much success. At least I don't have to read about his hair as a source of EU anguish.

You said "Rich can because they are rich". So you tell me.


Exactly. Many of them built their wealth by exploiting the poor. Walmart is a good example.


We didn't do that because we are so generous. Some of the bases in Europe are major hubs for our involvement in the Middle East. The US wants to play global cop? Sure, but then we pay, not the others.

I won't answer because you don't answer


BS. Cops don't play. They get paid. At least my cops would. We should be profitable in Japan, Korea and Europe. That's the start. Then, we should use the bases for other missions as we see fit. Don't like it? FU or we are gone. That's what I would say to Merkel and others like her. You would be shocked how quickly they would say please stay. Instead, like children, we plead with the Koreans to please offset our expenses. How stupid!!! Then, we "negotiate". The US "negotiates" with a nothing country like South Korea. I need a barf bag...

How is 150 "very slow"? The fastest trains in Europe, like Madrid-Valladolid run at 350 km/h, or around 215 mph. 215 and 150 is small difference. Then, you should take into account that the distance most European high speed rail connections cover is small compared to the existing Moscow-St. Petersburg, or the under-construction Moscow -Nizhny Novgorod lines are. The distance between Moscow and St. Petersburg is the same as the distance from Paris to Marseille - basically the entire length of France.


A lot of things you say I find reasonable, but this is not. The United States is the wealthiest country in the world by an enormous margin. If it wanted to, it could build a coast to coast high speed rail line tomorrow, for example - by funding it with a fresh issuance of US treasury bonds ($400 billion, $600 billion, doesn't matter). This new issuance would be snapped up within literal minutes, because the US government bond market is the deepest, most liquid securities market in the world. That Republicans and Democrats make a huge deal every year about raising the debt ceiling is just a testament to the economic illiteracy of the rank and file congressman or senator, and their respective constituencies. The simple truth is that it is impossible for the United States to default on it's dollar-denominated debt, unlike a Greece or an Italy whose debt is denominated in a currency over which they have no control. As long as the rest of the world needs dollars to pay each other for goods (a long, long time - sorry crypto folks), the US can infinitely borrow to pay for nice goodies at home. The fact that the US isn't doing this (despite urging from the brightest economic minds in the country), is a function of the average american's puritan attitude to debt - not that the country is broke.

Finally, the reason HSR doesn't exist in the States (despite a seemingly obvious need - there are 50 million people living between DC and Boston), is because Amtrak management are some of the biggest crooks in the United States, and also... because shuttle flights between DC and Philly, NYC, and Boston run every 10 minutes and are cheaper than a train ticket. Sure you'll have to catch a bus or shell out for an Uber once you get out of the airport, rather than disembarking in the middle of downtown, but you'll still make it there hours before you would on a train.

I will not debate that because you may be right and I hate to lose. But the effect is the same, though. Right now, the number of decrepit, rusting and unsafe bridges is off chart. Don't ask me how many. The problem is that the money we are paying through gas taxes at both levels - state and federal - is immediately spent on other things. Just as is the Social Security "Trust Fund" which is nothing else than a cabinet full of IOY's . The idea that we can teach others how to run their countries makes me laugh so hard I have to pee or cry.

American attitudes toward debt are by no means puritan if viewed on a personal level. Indeed, here Americans could learn a thing or two from the Germans and the French about how to manage credit card debt and how to not spend your discretionary income on needless electronics purchases (you can also throw in student debt, mortgages, and other things in here). However, when it comes to state debt, here... for some very strange reason.... americans become very "responsible".

I suppose it's the instinctual discomfort of hosting a burden for something you may not have necessarily reaped the fruits from, but it doesn't make it right. It's still misguided. America's ability to raise capital by making the rest of the world buy it's debt has been, in the past, called the "exorbitant privilege" by the British. It is still an enormously powerful tool. However it won't last forever. So why not use it to the benefit of your people?

We must be living in different "Americas". The state of Illinois squandered or underfunded its pensions to the tune of 130 billion bucks. That's "b", not m. Social Security - same story. The US used to be a creditor nation. Now we need to borrow to fund the basic government functions from out enemies like China. That is why I can't share in your positive view of "America". But I would like to be wrong.

@Rich Mazur

I apologize if it was confusing when I wrote "state debt". I meant the debt of the nation state, that is, national government debt. Just like the constituent countries of the EU, at least those operating within the Euro, US states do not have sovereign control over the currency. That's why they can and do run into big trouble with runaway spending, sometimes to the point of declaring bankruptcy (so far it's been mostly municipalities, but there have also been a few states).

The federal government is a different story.

...and a very scary one. In the time of peace, no matter how fast the fed income tax collections go up, these morons in the DC always manage to spend another trillion more. This is a mental disorder, addiction, or simply an act of irresponsibility bordering on criminal. Today, in that "booming" economy, we should be paying the national down, not jack it up high and higher. That's what you and would be doing.

Look at what happened with Eurostar between London and Paris/Brussels once it became fully high speed. It decimated the planes, because they couldn't compete. I don't remember the number, but it's about 4 hours where people will prefer to take the train over the plane.


Complete mismanagement in so many ways.

I looked up the US tax burden recently and it's just ridiculous. The people get completely screwed there, and unlike in Europe, you can't really see what they're getting for their money.

Sure you can but first you must understand that Freedom is not free.

Bologoe (exactly in-between) is not the best place to stay overnight, especially if you come in the middle of the night. Better to get more comfortable 2-place coupe and sleep in the train.

That would imply stupidity. The clowns in Congress are not stupid. They are corrupt to the core with only two objectives starting the first day in office: get enough money from the lobbyists to get elected again and pass the bills that will give them a nice job if they don't.

That's Washington DC in one paragraph.


We don't need to spend 40% of the world's combined military budgets to be free and feed China with all that money we are sending there at the same time. It's like driving a car with one foot on gas and the other on the brake at the same time and asking for more money to buy more gas and new pads. Insane does not come even close to describing this mental disorder.

Actually, it's not insanity. It's just Washington DC in action doing what they do best.

And that is why Trump got elected.
He has the balls to tell them to go to hell......and they ain't use to that.
And that is why they want to impeach so badly.
Trump is a threat to their jobs by exposing their corruption. (Draining the Swamp)

The worst and the deadliest swamp is DoD and the contractors. When they are happy, people die. Not funny. If they could at least make playing a cop profitable as a payback for the death and destruction. They are smart to rip off the taxpayers, but smart enough to make a buck?

That makes all the other swamps a walk in the park on a sunny day.

The hell we don't Rich.
We have the whole damn world (excluding Israel) p!ssed off at us.
America is known to be a bully.
The world would love nothing more to see the bully get a major black eye and bloody nose.
It's very necessary to spend 40% on our military budget to prevent that from happening.
Let's be honest here.

It's hilarious to see how Americans are dying because of inadequate healthcare, yet they see nothing wrong with spending a huge amount of cash in playing policeman.

There is no medical care that can cure stupidity and addiction. With 66% grossly overweight and 33% morbidly obese, it's a miracle they don't die sooner. You could spend a billion per person and the number of sick fatsos will be the same.

As a beneficiary of the American health care, I can testify that it's as perfect as it gets. If you are covered.


That was a one-liner I asked to avoid. Russia (60 billion) is secure spending 10 times less than the US at 700 billion.


I know you are a patriot and love this country, but this kind of reasoning cannot be used as basis for a discussion and, later, a policy.

Why do we need to be a "bully"?

Really?
Are you telling us that 99% of Americans are fatso's?
I find that hard to believe.
75%.... maybe.....

Its nice that you find it HILARIOUS! WE could only hope some kind of cancer befalls upon you or someone you love, Feking Troll!

What time is it over there now, do you troll 24/7?

It's like a game of Telephone (Chinese Whispers to Americans) :)

Rich said 40% of the combined world defense budgets, not 40% of America's budget. I'm glad you're not running the United States, because if spending 40% of the budget on defense is fine for you - you'd run the country into the ground in the blink of an eye. In fiscal year 2019, the budget office estimates that the federal government will spend $4.53 trillion. Defense spending is estimated to amount to $716 billion, while another $86 billion will be spent on the VA. That makes for a total of $802 billion, or just about 17.7% of the total federal budget. The government spends much more on healthcare - $645 billion and $419 billion on Medicare and Medicaid (respectively) alone. Rich is right in that American healthcare is the best in the world, the problem is how expensive it is. Most people don't feel it because insurance pays, but in the end everyone picks up the bill one way or the other.


It's not binary with defense spending. It's undeniable that for many Americans good healthcare is out of reach (the Affordable Care Act went some ways towards fixing that), and this is shameful for the world's wealthiest nation, but it's not for lack of spending by the government.

No. Sorry for not making it clearer. So, 66 are overweight. 33 are morbidly overweight. 66 includes 33.

Here's an interesting recent article on Russian defense spending: defensenews.com/opinion/commentary/2019/05/03/russian-defense-spending-is-much-larger-and-more-sustainable-than-it-seems/

The point basically is that Russia spends a lot more on defense than nominal dollar comparisons would suggest. The gist of it is that, first - Russian procurement spending is almost entirely domestic and done in roubles, so dollar to dollar comparisons are not reflective of the true scale (same is true to some extent in regards to Poland, however Poland does buy a lot of foreign equipment). Second, that a much larger share of Russian defense spending goes towards procurement of new kit (roughly 50%), in comparison to the United States ($114 billion of $716 total, or about 16%). Of course, this means that the United States still spends almost 4 times more than Russia on procurement.

What's kinda interesting, is that Russia is the one that actually has the more "unsustainable" defense spending. Russia spends a full 4.5% of GDP on its military, while the United States spends only 3.5%. The only countries that spend more than Russia on their military are Israel and Saudi Arabia (North Korea is probably higher too, but no one can say for sure).

Poland, because we gotta mention Poland sometimes on this forum, spends about $12 billion on defense. Only 5 times smaller than Russia. :P Polska Stronk!

...and for the May 9 Victory parade which I always watch with envy.

Nonsense. The USA has been projecting power through its oversized military and countless bases abroad ever since the end of WW2. That's an ambitious hobby and quite expensive. Give it up, save money.