>>1694477>We do not give a shit how people in other countries do thingsTheoretically, there's a thought process greater than "this is how we do things, so this is how we'll do things." Other countries' experience is relevant to checking whether that thought process is accurate.
>they demanded highways to use them onUS car industry kicked off in the 1920s. The Interstate Act wasn't passed until 1956. Even then, having the government directly build, own, and operate highways and airports is a massive departure from the privately-run railroads. If private companies had to acquire the right of way, then build and operate highways out of their own funds, there would be vastly fewer highways. Instead, there was a flood of government money, while the railroads had to recover from WWII on their own, further handicapped by the ICC.
> offloaded their dreadfully performing passenger services onto Amtrak asapAmtrak was created in the 1970s. Decades went by after the superhighway/jetliner age.
>railroads could not offer the speed of planes not the convenience of your own carAnd again, other countries also have airplanes and cars, and trains. There's no inherent "pick just one." Their highways, airports, aircraft, and cars range from comparable to superior to US offerings. The land of the free gives its people fewer, often worse, transport options. And they defend that.
