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   zip (zip@wandering.shop)'s status on Sunday, 09-Feb-2025 22:45:50 JST zip

   America's short term problem is obvious but its long term problem, I suspect, is that Reagan paid for a tax cut by stopping infrastructure investment and now nobody still of working age remembers what maintenance actually costs. It's now politically unthinkable to tax enough that government departments can run efficiently, that schools are properly resourced, that the line at immigration is quick, that bridges are properly inspected and maintained.

   • Embed this notice
     goatsarah (goatsarah@thegoatery.dyndns.org)'s status on Sunday, 09-Feb-2025 22:45:49 JST goatsarah

     in reply to
     @zip Honestly, I feel this for the UK as well. The contrast with Portugal, which still has the remnants of social democracy, is stark.
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     goatsarah (goatsarah@thegoatery.dyndns.org)'s status on Sunday, 09-Feb-2025 23:11:26 JST goatsarah

     in reply to

     @zip The biggest thing I notice?

     Potholes and surface repair on motorways.

     Portugal: If there's a problem, someone comes out overnight, cones off a section of road, and fixes it.

     UK: 50mph speed limit for 18 months whilst government spaffs money to private contractors who don't actually fix the damned thing for 18 months, but their CEO went to Oriel with the transport minister, or some shit.

   • Embed this notice
     zip (zip@wandering.shop)'s status on Sunday, 09-Feb-2025 23:11:27 JST zip

     in reply to

     • goatsarah

     @goatsarah up, it goes for the UK just as well, and I'm pretty concerned about it. For a brief beautiful moment it looked like Scotland might make a break for it, but I guess that moment has passed. Not that I'm well enough to go running around moving to other coutnries anymore.

   • Embed this notice
     Alisdair Calder McGregor (a_c_mcgregor@topspicy.social)'s status on Sunday, 09-Feb-2025 23:24:34 JST Alisdair Calder McGregor

     in reply to

     • goatsarah

     @goatsarah @zip Government is expensive. Cheap government is even more expensive, in the long run.

     goatsarah likes this.