That's not actually the way it works, even in Connecticut. Yes, the gas tax is intended to support the roads, but the roads are actually paid for by bond issues funded out of the state's general coffers. The gas tax goes to pay the bond issues, and typically only a portion of it. The rest comes out of the state treasury.
How many truly poor people do you know own cars?
I think this is a great idea. This way, the roads are paid for by those who use them.
For example, I live in St. Louis. One of the fastest growing counties in the US is St. Charles, one of St. Louis's suburbs. It is growing so quickly because it is inhabited largely by redneck white people that can't get away from the predominately black population in the city fast enough. I'd say good ridance, for the most part, except I have to not only deal with the horrendous commuter traffic this generates, but I have to pay for new roads for these a**holes (they consistently vote down mass transit initiatives - wouldn't want those negroes riding the train in - that's why we moved out here!). I would have no problem if people wanted to live out there - as long as I dodn't have to subsidize it.
Bravo. This is a brilliant initiative - good luck pulling it off.
All of this discussion of language is interesting, but I haven't heard anyone state the advantage English has over any other language in the world: its richness.
Yes, English is difficult to learn, has crazy rules, and the only reason it is spoken so widely is because of American Imperialism(tm). However, it is possible to communicate subtleties in English that are extraordinarily difficult in other languages. For example, think of how many ways you can describe a king in English (off the top of my head here): kingly, regal, royal, imperial, majestic, stately...each of these words has slightly different meaning, but all describe kings. To the best of my knowledge no other language in the world can match English for sheer synonym power.
Of course, there are some concepts English doesn't handle well, and are better addressed with other languages. But when that happens, we just go steal words and phrases from other languages to supplement ours. How many know what gestalt is, or espirit de escalair (sp?)?
Point is, language is just a tool. Want great flexibility and subltety in your language? Use English. Want to talk metaphysiscs? Use Chinese. Romance? French or Italian.
(Anybody tell I'm a Frank Herbert nut?:)
My brother is a history teacher, and since he doesn't like computers much, I've had to learn some history so I can have intelligent conversations with him. US Military history quickly became my favorite topic. One thing I have learned in my studies has been this: with the exception of Viet Nam (a war fought by politicians, not the military) the US military has been characterized by one quality. They are almost completely unpredictable.
When WWII broke out, the US military was the 16th largest in the world. Facist nations thought that an army of individuals could not possibly compete with their indoctrinated uber men. It was that individuality that gave the American GI the edge over the Japanese or German soldier.
German soldiers, when spark plugs went out, abandoned the car. American soldiers welded bulldozer scoops onto tanks to attack hedgerows. Japanese soldiers died by the thousands in banzai charges. (To paraphrase Neal Stephenson, the only Japanese soldiers who figured out the Banzai charge didn't work were already dead.) American pilots changed tatics mid-war, from the dive bomb to the torpedo bomb.
The Persian Gulf War was only another example. Pundits said the US would fight for years in a ground war in the desert. Instead, the coalition refused to engage the ground troops. They systematically cut the eyes and ears of the Iragi army, until they could attack the heart without risk.
The most recent unpleasantness in Yugoslavia is another example. All I will point out on this one is Slobodon is in custody, and the US did not suffer a single casuality (that they tell us about).
The point is, I don't think any one of us can predict what the US military will do. It has proven time and again to be inventive, resourceful, and above all, unpredicatable. Most of the slashdot readship probably falls within the top most 1% of the population in terms of intelligence. Do not forget that the people calling the shots on this one can probably cut that down to.25%. Moreover, they know their shit as well as you know yours. Now, anyone here want to step up and say that the slashdot readship, collectively, cannot solve ANY technology problem on the face of the earth?
DO NOT underestimate these people. About the only thing I can say is that what we will see will likely be something that none of us expect.
Slashdot Mirror
As I was reading your comment, I was thinking, "This person has a point, but I wonder if they have thought through the implications..."
And then I see you use a quote from a professional wrestler as your sig, and all doubt was removed.
That's not actually the way it works, even in Connecticut. Yes, the gas tax is intended to support the roads, but the roads are actually paid for by bond issues funded out of the state's general coffers. The gas tax goes to pay the bond issues, and typically only a portion of it. The rest comes out of the state treasury.
How many truly poor people do you know own cars? I think this is a great idea. This way, the roads are paid for by those who use them. For example, I live in St. Louis. One of the fastest growing counties in the US is St. Charles, one of St. Louis's suburbs. It is growing so quickly because it is inhabited largely by redneck white people that can't get away from the predominately black population in the city fast enough. I'd say good ridance, for the most part, except I have to not only deal with the horrendous commuter traffic this generates, but I have to pay for new roads for these a**holes (they consistently vote down mass transit initiatives - wouldn't want those negroes riding the train in - that's why we moved out here!). I would have no problem if people wanted to live out there - as long as I dodn't have to subsidize it. Bravo. This is a brilliant initiative - good luck pulling it off.
All of this discussion of language is interesting, but I haven't heard anyone state the advantage English has over any other language in the world: its richness. Yes, English is difficult to learn, has crazy rules, and the only reason it is spoken so widely is because of American Imperialism(tm). However, it is possible to communicate subtleties in English that are extraordinarily difficult in other languages. For example, think of how many ways you can describe a king in English (off the top of my head here): kingly, regal, royal, imperial, majestic, stately...each of these words has slightly different meaning, but all describe kings. To the best of my knowledge no other language in the world can match English for sheer synonym power. Of course, there are some concepts English doesn't handle well, and are better addressed with other languages. But when that happens, we just go steal words and phrases from other languages to supplement ours. How many know what gestalt is, or espirit de escalair (sp?)? Point is, language is just a tool. Want great flexibility and subltety in your language? Use English. Want to talk metaphysiscs? Use Chinese. Romance? French or Italian. (Anybody tell I'm a Frank Herbert nut? :)
My brother is a history teacher, and since he doesn't like computers much, I've had to learn some history so I can have intelligent conversations with him. US Military history quickly became my favorite topic. One thing I have learned in my studies has been this: with the exception of Viet Nam (a war fought by politicians, not the military) the US military has been characterized by one quality. They are almost completely unpredictable. When WWII broke out, the US military was the 16th largest in the world. Facist nations thought that an army of individuals could not possibly compete with their indoctrinated uber men. It was that individuality that gave the American GI the edge over the Japanese or German soldier. German soldiers, when spark plugs went out, abandoned the car. American soldiers welded bulldozer scoops onto tanks to attack hedgerows. Japanese soldiers died by the thousands in banzai charges. (To paraphrase Neal Stephenson, the only Japanese soldiers who figured out the Banzai charge didn't work were already dead.) American pilots changed tatics mid-war, from the dive bomb to the torpedo bomb. The Persian Gulf War was only another example. Pundits said the US would fight for years in a ground war in the desert. Instead, the coalition refused to engage the ground troops. They systematically cut the eyes and ears of the Iragi army, until they could attack the heart without risk. The most recent unpleasantness in Yugoslavia is another example. All I will point out on this one is Slobodon is in custody, and the US did not suffer a single casuality (that they tell us about). The point is, I don't think any one of us can predict what the US military will do. It has proven time and again to be inventive, resourceful, and above all, unpredicatable. Most of the slashdot readship probably falls within the top most 1% of the population in terms of intelligence. Do not forget that the people calling the shots on this one can probably cut that down to .25%. Moreover, they know their shit as well as you know yours. Now, anyone here want to step up and say that the slashdot readship, collectively, cannot solve ANY technology problem on the face of the earth?
DO NOT underestimate these people. About the only thing I can say is that what we will see will likely be something that none of us expect.