[FRIAM] capitalism vs. individualism

[uǝlƃ ☣]

On 11/11/19 2:44 PM, Marcus Daniels wrote:
> It is more complicated that urban vs. rural.   In the bay area, I do have true gigabit speed from AT&T, but it was government regulation that facilitated <https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2015/07/att-gets-directv-merger-approval-must-deploy-fiber-to-12-5m-customers/> that motivated AT&T to do it.   Thank you government regulators.   Meanwhile, my dad in rural Oregon also has it because he has a cooperative telephone company that just decided to save the money and make the investment.

Of course. And it's not only with broadband:

Separate and Unequal Train Service Returns
https://www.dcreport.org/2019/10/18/separate-and-unequal-train-service-returns/

Yet another personal anecdote -- Up until about a month or so ago, I was an advocate for public transportation, in particular trains, buses, light rail, etc. But Renee' needed her car worked on, the shop being *VERY* close to a trolley stop in Portland. So, rather than me burning lots of gas driving my 12 mpg truck up there to pick her up [†], then driving it back up there to drop her off, I recommended she take the trolley to the light rail, then I could pick her up at the light rail stop, here. It's important to note that her employer provides free public transit rides and all she needs is her nursing badge to board any bus or train in the Metro area.

But even though the auto shop is only a few blocks from the trolley stop, she *refused* to take it. It was much more convenient for her to have me slice out 2 hours (1 hour per trip) of my day, burn a bunch of gas, etc. than it was to ride the train(s). And she's (ostensibly) also an advocate for public transportation.

This episode challenged my understanding of infrastructure. I don't think Renee's alone in this. I've heard people complain of the tiniest things about their public trans trips ... someone smacking their food ... someone with body odor ... the drunk guy passed out on the seat ... someone clipping their toenails ... etc. They all sound like rationalizations, to me. Whatever the deeper cause, there's something about us as a people that prevents effective sharing. So, I'm now considering changing all my advocacy from public transportation to massive swarms of publicly owned, self-driving, electric cars. And I'll start trashing Amtrak and Portland's TriMet every chance I get. 8^)



[†] I could have picked her up on my 55 mpg motorcycle. But my guess is she would have chafed at having to carry and put on her gear for such a short ride ... plus it was a bit cold and all that other "discomfort".

-- 
☣ uǝlƃ