I think that is the gist of the problem with the unemployment handouts. But the U.S.is primarily a service based economy. As long as the lockdown is in place, a large segment of the population can't go to work.
American Economics Thread
- Thread starter Bernard
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I think that is the gist of the problem with the unemployment handouts. But the U.S.is primarily a service based economy. As long as the lockdown is in place, a large segment of the population can't go to work.
Agreed.
A minimum wage of at least $13 per hour is the best way forward.
But whether that happens is another question.
That is why the US must abuse its position as the role of reserve currency for the world to spend as much money as possible investing in infrastructure, R&D, and other endeavors.
For decades now Republicans have lampooned about the deficit, yet it has continued to grow higher without the financial collapse of the United States. I would argue to spend trillions now on various infrastructure, social aid, R&D projects and then let God sort the rest out. As long as the programs they fund are attempting to help the downtrodden and middle class who cares how much you spend? Certainly, it is better than giving continued tax breaks and increased wealth accumulation to the 1% which has done nothing for the average American.
antiterror13
Brigadier
Have you got the statistic for it?
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Yeah the tracks and road surfaces don't use much steel, but these steel elevated sections
and all of those steel reinforced concrete pylons they use to elevate the tracks and roadways, must just be negligible thin air then!
Infrastructure is only 20% of all Chinese steel consumption.
But that includes everything from highways, railways, city roads, airports, seaports, water, gas, electricity etc etc.
I'd be really surprised if highways and railways accounted for even 10% of total Chinese steel consumption.
Everywhere in the world, the vast majority of roads and railways are rarely elevated like in the picture.
It's a heck of a lot cheaper to build on the ground.
And where it is elevated railway, if you watch the railway construction videos, you can see it's all standardised pre-cast concrete segments with some steel rods for reinforcement.
Not necessarily 'cheaper' at ground level, railway lines need small gradients and China builds its railway lines on elevated platforms rather than using embankments, because its more space efficient. Its roads also makes heavy use of platforms as illustrated in the picture which is a Chinese road and as we're talking about China's steel use not somewhere else, that kind of matters!
If I ignored China's construction practices and then make sweeping statements about what happens in the rest of world yeah I can claim they make negligible steel use too!