[rintintin]

You’re making the same argument against Trump infrastructure platform that Ted Cruz, Rubio and othe GOP candidates made in the 2016 primaries. Maybe that traditional libertarian argument is right. But the point is, Trump won the nomination and the election on those infrastructure promises, they helped him win traditional democrat areas that don’t vote for the libertarian message. He’s going to have a challenge in those regions because he didn’t deliver - regardless of whether your libertarian arguments are right as a matter of theory

[Zhang Fei]

[You’re making the same argument against Trump infrastructure platform that Ted Cruz, Rubio and othe GOP candidates made in the 2016 primaries. Maybe that traditional libertarian argument is right. But the point is, Trump won the nomination and the election on those infrastructure promises, they helped him win traditional democrat areas that don’t vote for the libertarian message. He’s going to have a challenge in those regions because he didn’t deliver - regardless of whether your libertarian arguments are right as a matter of theory]

---

This isn’t a libertarian argument; it’s a don’t build unnecessary stuff argument, because public works cost a huge amount of money. First, there’s no call for building additional infrastructure in the Midwest - a region that is seeing the lowest population growth in the nation.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_states_and_territories_of_the_United_States_by_population

Second, the existing infrastructure isn’t falling apart. Sinkholes aren’t opening up on interstates and bridges aren’t falling down with cars on them. The thing with infrastructure is that entropy sets in the moment it’s finished. Any brand spanking new thing starts falling apart very, very gradually. That’s why we have periodic inspections - to size up the integrity of the structure and figure out how much patching it needs. For small patches, partial closure is fine. For big problems, complete closure and a major detour might be necessary. But all of this stuff falls within routine maintenance.

Third, the best way to win votes in the Midwest is to bring jobs back and to deport illegal alien scabs. That is what he’s doing with the wall and tariff policies. That it’s been sidetracked with the virus is not his fault. The new infrastructure thing would be a massive boondoggle. It’s gonna cost tens of billions to build a glorified fence on the border. A big infrastructure project in the Midwest could cost trillions.

And how do you get the Midwest its money without doing the same for the rest of the country? Maybe we should dismantle the entire military and prepare to be ruled from Moscow or Beijing?