tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251777016037497783.post5399512652733727038..comments2023-12-14T20:02:51.470-06:00Comments on The Heavy Anglophile Orthodox: Winds shifting over the borderlands (and other news)Matthew Franklin Cooperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15233216128641267240noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251777016037497783.post-69702476448840537732012-09-01T10:39:11.395-05:002012-09-01T10:39:11.395-05:00I do wonder. A lot of infrastructure maintained a...I do wonder. A lot of infrastructure maintained at public expense (like the highways) serves as an indirect subsidy for (among other things) big-box retail, given that they have a network for toll-free shipping. They do want to see that infrastructure maintained, as long as they don't have to pay for it themselves. But infrastructure that would benefit small businesses, small communities, the working class? Forget about it. There is a disconnect between the way we think about military investment (or justify other forms of spending on the basis of national defence), and the way we think about any other form of public investment; the trick is to make people aware of that disconnect.<br /><br />I think it was very clever of Jon Stewart, for example, to argue for universal health care on the basis that it would mean our soldiers, policemen and firefighters are treated more humanely. A militarily patriotic argument for economic patriotism.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251777016037497783.post-52310504523832910012012-08-29T21:04:09.125-05:002012-08-29T21:04:09.125-05:00The opposition to infrastructure spending in the U...The opposition to infrastructure spending in the U.S. is very odd since it has such a long and successful history in this country. One explanation might be that some rentier interests desire to see more infrastructure privatized so that they can extract tolls, fees, etc. from ownership. If the government acted to improve the infrastructure under public ownership, people might oppose privatization. Perhaps I am wearing my tinfoil hat too tightly, but I can’t think of other explanations. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com