Goods flow toward wealth. When we were wealthy, goods flowed here. If goods are now flowing the opposite direction, I don't see how this could be seen as a good thing. For us anyway.
Pretty sure that increasing exports is a huge step in the right direction as far as recovery goes.
Not sure how this could be seen as a bad thing.
The problem is that those systems almost always suck and there's no way to fix it.
I'll give an example. I live on the north side of the river and my job is on the south side of the river. The city has maybe 10 bridges that go across the river. The most direct path to work is fairly short, maybe 10 miles or so. The direct path also crosses several major roads and takes the most time, about 1.5 hours to get to work. The fastest way to get to work is to travel to the edge of the city and drive on the road that circles around the city. The distance is 30 miles and it takes about 45 minutes.
My city's transit system has an application on their website that helps plan bus trips by telling which bus to take and how long the trip will take. If I put in that I need to arrive at 8am, it says there is no possible way I can do this. If I enter that I intend to leave my house at 7am (peak bus service), it estimates the trip as taking 2 hours and 10 minutes. It involves taking 2 buses, then taking the train across the river, then taking a third bus after that.
So then what if I didn't want to travel and just decided to move closer? No can do. Offices are generally located in prime real estate locations. Downtown is the absolute worst for price, but my office isn't downtown. My office is a 1 floor building near the $400,000 houses. If I stop driving to work and just move closer, I save $1000-2000 per year on gas, but my rent would go up by about $4,000 at the very minimum. It would be a nicer place to live, but it's still money I don't have.
edit:
in before some retard says I should buy a $30,000 hybrid car to save money.
I would love a diesel engine. Right now I think Volkswagen is the only company that sells those. Of all the companies that make cars, why does it need to be a VW :'(In your case I'd be looking at a diesel engined car. Better MPG than your current for less cost than a hybrid.
The good news is that we're planning to relocate downtown. Since I live in the city, a 2 bus trip will get me right to the door and it only costs about $80 per month. The rest of the people are pissed off because this means paying through the nose for parking since they live in the suburbs. What we really need is some kind of park and ride system where people could drive to the outside of the city then take express buses or trains downtown. The city has 2 stations like this, but there's never enough parking for it to be done properly.Your case highlights the issues with office space outside of concentrated business districts in the context of suburban sprawl. Since much of these can never be served adequately with any form of mass transit, regardless of the investment, the people who work in those kind of offices will forever be chained to their cars.
I would love a diesel engine. Right now I think Volkswagen is the only company that sells those. Of all the companies that make cars, why does it need to be a VW :'(
When you buy a Honda, they will start sending these weird quarterly magazines about the company. A few years ago that magazine mentioned something about them working on a clean diesel car. Did they just abandon that idea or something? I liked that idea. I would seriously consider buying a diesel made by Honda if they would get their shit together and build one.
The good news is that we're planning to relocate downtown. Since I live in the city, a 2 bus trip will get me right to the door and it only costs about $80 per month. The rest of the people are pissed off because this means paying through the nose for parking since they live in the suburbs. What we really need is some kind of park and ride system where people could drive to the outside of the city then take express buses or trains downtown. The city has 2 stations like this, but there's never enough parking for it to be done properly.
The reason nobody wants a VW is because they have extremely high cost of ownership. Electrical gremlins that never go away, motors that burn out within a year, sensors that burn out and require the engine to be pulled. Readings the complaints on edmunds shows what the repair issues are:The new VW Jetta actually looks pretty nice and the TDI model gets 32/40 ....not too shabby for $22K
The problem is that those systems almost always suck and there's no way to fix it.
I'll give an example. I live on the north side of the river and my job is on the south side of the river. The city has maybe 10 bridges that go across the river. The most direct path to work is fairly short, maybe 10 miles or so. The direct path also crosses several major roads and takes the most time, about 1.5 hours to get to work. The fastest way to get to work is to travel to the edge of the city and drive on the road that circles around the city. The distance is 30 miles and it takes about 45 minutes.
My city's transit system has an application on their website that helps plan bus trips by telling which bus to take and how long the trip will take. If I put in that I need to arrive at 8am, it says there is no possible way I can do this. If I enter that I intend to leave my house at 7am (peak bus service), it estimates the trip as taking 2 hours and 10 minutes. It involves taking 2 buses, then taking the train across the river, then taking a third bus after that.
So then what if I didn't want to travel and just decided to move closer? No can do. Offices are generally located in prime real estate locations. Downtown is the absolute worst for price, but my office isn't downtown. My office is a 1 floor building near the $400,000 houses. If I stop driving to work and just move closer, I save $1000-2000 per year on gas, but my rent would go up by about $4,000 at the very minimum. It would be a nicer place to live, but it's still money I don't have.
edit:
in before some retard says I should buy a $30,000 hybrid car to save money.
The reason nobody wants a VW is because they have extremely high cost of ownership. Electrical gremlins that never go away, motors that burn out within a year, sensors that burn out and require the engine to be pulled. Readings the complaints on edmunds shows what the repair issues are:
http://www.edmunds.com/volkswagen/jetta/2009/consumer-reviews.html?sub=diesel
Related to this topic, it might make sense to get started on biodiesel production so that can exported to the chinese when the time is right. It's better to be a pioneer in the market than play catch up.
Goods flow toward wealth. When we were wealthy, goods flowed here. If goods are now flowing the opposite direction, I don't see how this could be seen as a good thing. For us anyway.
I pretty much agree. Especially with our failing education system, we're at serious risk of becoming a virtual colony, trading raw materials for finished goods we increasingly no longer make. However, there's one big caveat to this. Obama pledged to bankrupt companies that build new coal-fired plants. (Of course, he also promised to support "clean coal", so his exact intentions are up for interpretation.) And due to our depressed economy, we can extract more coal than we need, especially if government is indeed going to prevent us from replacing some imported oil with domestic coal. Given those factors, it makes sense at least in the short term to export coal.Goods flow toward wealth. When we were wealthy, goods flowed here. If goods are now flowing the opposite direction, I don't see how this could be seen as a good thing. For us anyway.
hummer
Let's hope the government is extremely vigilant on maintaining and even strengthening environmental protection laws and regulations to make sure we don't go backward in this area whilst pursuing exports. Any environmental damage will be here long after the money has been spent.
It has gone from bad to worst for people that aren't ready for the permanent oil overlord. It is not speculator or OPEC that is in the driving seat this time.
China and other developing countries are growing while consumes energy at a rapid rate. China/India/Vietnam are a few countries that have been building new coal / nuclear power plants due to demand, and they also thirst for other natural resources as well, such as rare earth, fertilizer, metals, and oil.
IMHO, take a good look at your last gas guzzler land yacht/SUV/hummer because you will not be able to fill it or manufacture will cease making them.
I haven't seen many cars that are LNG/LPG/electric power in North America, let alone coal.I think you severely underestimate the metric fuckton of coal that the US is sitting on. It makes Saudi Arabia's oil reserves look like a drop by comparison.
I haven't seen many cars that are LNG/LPG/electric power in North America, let alone coal.