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Transport Subsidies Lead to Bad Decisions

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[quote user="Mailman56701"][quote user="Phoebe Vet"] Samantha:I also did not mention Republican, Democrat, the current administration, Iraq, or Afganistan.  I cited our long standing military interference in the middle east. I was not refering to the current fiasco.  That is a whole different argument that is unrelated to railroading.Oil is the primary source of wealth in the middle east.  They don't need to be intimidated into selling it.  We are the only country on the planet that feels the need to have a military presence all over the world to demonstrate how tough we are.  We have hundreds of military bases in 130 foreign countries.  Incidentally, I was in the Navy during the Viet Nam Era (1966, 67,& 68).  It is not about defense, it is about projecting power.The cost of that bully attitude has nothing to do with any form of transportation unless you want to count the fact that the Eisenhower Defense Highway system, usually called the Interstate Highway System, was built so that the military could move quickly to any place in the US on short notice.  Therefore I do not believe that any form of transportation should be taxed to support any portion of the miltary.Typing this has given me another thought.  Perhaps we could get the Feds to use the same military motivation to take a clean sheet of paper and build a rail system similar to the Interstate Highway system for the same reason.[/quote]  Surely you're not suggesting that the reason for the long standing US military prescence in the ME is to "intimidate" countries into selling oil ?[/quote]If you are interested in the role played by the western powers, e.g. UK, France, Germany, U.S., etc. in the development of the Middle East oil fields, The Prize by Daniel Yergin is an excellent book.  It traces the role of the western oil companies since the early 20th century in developing the fields.  Military might was not used to gain access to the fields; the developers were invited in by the Saudi's, as well as others, to explore for oil.The Brits, French, Germans, Russians, and U.S., at different points, have used their influence, including military power, to protect their vested interest in the fields.  They have not, however, used their power to run rough shod over the Middle East countries.  In fact, when the Middle Eastern governments took control of the oil production facilities in their countries, in the face of western displeasure, the western military powers were relatively helpless to do anything about it.The U.S. maintains a naval presence in the Middle East, at least in part, to keep the oil sea lanes open.  The cost is not reflected in the price of gasoline.  It should be.  Because it is not, the true cost of driving is not reflected in the price of motor fuel.  This is one factor that has  helped lead to a lopsided transportation policy in the U.S. that favors cars and planes over trains.  And this is how it relates to railroads.The Interstate Highway System was built as a civilian highway project.  To get it funded, the Eisenhower Administration pushed it through Congress on the premise that it could be used for defense in case of a national emergency.  Most informed people, according to contemporary news accounts, knew that claiming it was for national defense was a ruse.  The military did not fund it nor did it build it.
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