On Sunday, December 24, 2023 at 9:27:45 PM UTC+1, funkma...@hotmail..com wrote:
> On Sunday, December 24, 2023 at 11:01:36 AM UTC-5, Lou Holtman wrote:
> > On Sunday, December 24, 2023 at 2:15:25 AM UTC+1, Frank Krygowski wrote:
> > > On 12/23/2023 7:59 PM, Roger Merriman wrote:
> > > > John B. <sloc...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > > >>
> > > >> Are the roads really that bad where you are? Broken glass gashing
> > > >> tires?...
> > > >
> > > > The commute or rather a short section of it, some is dropped bottles lot is
> > > > car debris which you get on side of bypass type roads, particularly unloved
> > > > areas such as areas north of Heathrow.
> > > I'll mention that glass shards, whether from bottles or crashed cars,
> > > are much less of a problem for cyclists who ride out in the lane, rather
> > > than at the far edge. Car tires tend to sweep pavement clean.
> > >
> > > --
> > > - Frank Krygowski
> > Every Sunday morning when riding to the meeting point of our Sunday morning ride I come across this bike path sweeper in the inner city that cleans the trash of the Saturday Neanderthaler shopping crowd:
> >
> > https://photos.app.goo.gl/Qp4tC99NkZPqZo9L7
> I don't see any trash in that photo, just leaves dropped from the trees.
>
> >
> > Result:
> >
> > https://photos.app.goo.gl/4hEJdWLyRQ8h6nyh9
> >
> > Lou
Go figure. They swept it anyway.

Lou

On Sun, 24 Dec 2023 10:37:31 -0600, AMuzi <am@yellowjersey.org> wrote:

>On 12/24/2023 10:01 AM, Lou Holtman wrote:
>> On Sunday, December 24, 2023 at 2:15:25?AM UTC+1, Frank Krygowski wrote:
>>> On 12/23/2023 7:59 PM, Roger Merriman wrote:
>>>> John B. <sloc...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> Are the roads really that bad where you are? Broken glass gashing
>>>>> tires?...
>>>>
>>>> The commute or rather a short section of it, some is dropped bottles lot is
>>>> car debris which you get on side of bypass type roads, particularly unloved
>>>> areas such as areas north of Heathrow.
>>> I'll mention that glass shards, whether from bottles or crashed cars,
>>> are much less of a problem for cyclists who ride out in the lane, rather
>>> than at the far edge. Car tires tend to sweep pavement clean.
>>>
>>> --
>>> - Frank Krygowski
>>
>>
>> Every Sunday morning when riding to the meeting point of our Sunday morning ride I come across this bike path sweeper in the inner city that cleans the trash of the Saturday Neanderthaler shopping crowd:
>>
>> https://photos.app.goo.gl/Qp4tC99NkZPqZo9L7
>>
>> Result:
>>
>> https://photos.app.goo.gl/4hEJdWLyRQ8h6nyh9
>>
>> Lou
>
>That's Nederlands.
>We were discussing less developed countries!
>
>https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iW9H3QSBE1c/Tfik-0vZxSI/AAAAAAAADh4/A5a1ywCfYWw/s1600/debris_field.JPG
>
>http://content.bikeroar.com/system/content/000/097/877/original/bike_lane_debris.jpg?1430246189
>
>https://bikesnobnyc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/trash-in-bike-lane.jpeg
>
>quick web search shows myriad similar examples.

Well :-) offer all those on unemployment the option. No pay or sweep
the street.

Or would that result in a charge against the government for cruel and
unusual punishment?

--
Cheers,

John B.

On Sun, 24 Dec 2023 10:17:17 -0600, AMuzi <am@yellowjersey.org> wrote:

>On 12/24/2023 5:12 AM, John B. wrote:
>> On Sun, 24 Dec 2023 10:55:30 GMT, Roger Merriman <roger@sarlet.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Frank Krygowski <frkrygow@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>>>> On 12/23/2023 5:54 PM, John B. wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> I spent 30, or so, years working as a "foreign worker" in countries
>>>>> that offered no "protection" to foreigners working there and a company
>>>>> could fire you any time that they wanted to and I never saw any
>>>>> oppression of the workers as U.S. Unions seem to allege.
>>>>
>>>> Members of my extended family have tales of worker abuse. One member of
>>>> the extended family provided testimony to a House of Representatives
>>>> committee investigating the issue, back in the 1930s. He talked about
>>>> the damage to a family owned gas station by National Guard bullets, when
>>>> Guard members fired on workers during some labor unrest. I've read the
>>>> transcript.
>>>>
>>>> Which is not to say unions are always right. I've seen abuses by both
>>>> management and by labor. But if an entire workforce gambles livelihood
>>>> by walking out on strike, it seems reasonably likely that they have
>>>> serious complaints.
>>>>
>>>
>>> Pre unions some folks got paid in tokens, which they could only spend at
>>> the company shop renting a house from the company and so on.
>>>
>>> It’s very much the everything in moderation or at least not to the extreme
>>> ends.
>>>
>>> Roger Merriman
>>
>> "Way back when" all this is likely true but this is today. If you
>> don't like the job go and get another.
>>
>> And yes, I've seen it happen. When I lived in the U.S. I bought a
>> Japanese car (don't remember the make) and was having it serviced and
>> got to talking with the mechanic. He'd been in some union, working for
>> an Aluminum Company, that took the lads out on strike. "My" mechanic
>> decided that this was a bunch of "s--t" and went off and got a job
>> with a car dealer. Told me that working "flat rate" he was making more
>> money then union wages and nobody was taking him out on strike.
>
>Exactly.
>None of those stories involve actual forced servitude;
>People can do to you exactly and only what you will bear.
>Had enough? Walk.

In fact people with names like "Muzi" and "Krygowski" probably arrived
in the U.S. for exactly the same reason. And, of course, historically
most of the U.S. population :-)

There was a story going around in Singapore years ago about the "White
man asking the Chinese bloke, "How come all we get here is poor
Chinese people" and the Chinese bloke replied, "The rich folk stayed
home".

--
Cheers,

John B.

On 12/24/2023 3:03 PM, Roger Merriman wrote:
> I guess it’s all of 1/4 of mile can occasionally pass broken glass
> on route but it’s rare and generally it’s to the side next to kerb or even
> on the cycleway which is wide enough for most part, it’s only on the
> flyover that has a spread of glass.
>
> And yes some of the trails I use more like you use are glass free.

The trails I've ridden have usually been glass free, but not always.
When we lived down south, there was one riverside trail we used as a
convenient shortcut within the city. Every couple of months there would
be broken glass on it. It had to be deliberate vandalism, because the
trail was too far from any roads.

Here in my suburban village, there are two very short trails I often use
as shortcuts. Each has had broken glass once or twice, probably from
kids purposely breaking bottles. And each of those times, I've cleaned
up the glass myself. If left to the village, the glass would still be there.

--
- Frank Krygowski

On 12/24/2023 3:27 PM, funkma...@hotmail.com wrote:
> On Sunday, December 24, 2023 at 11:01:36 AM UTC-5, Lou Holtman wrote:
>>
>> Every Sunday morning when riding to the meeting point of our Sunday morning ride I come across this bike path sweeper in the inner city that cleans the trash of the Saturday Neanderthaler shopping crowd:
>>
>> https://photos.app.goo.gl/Qp4tC99NkZPqZo9L7
>
> I don't see any trash in that photo, just leaves dropped from the trees.

Wet leaves can be just as slippery as ice.

>> Result:
>>
>> https://photos.app.goo.gl/4hEJdWLyRQ8h6nyh9

I get the idea that Netherlands is a very prosperous country. Here in
the U.S., it seems that even important roads sometimes lack that level
of maintenance and care, usually because of budget worries.

--
- Frank Krygowski

On Monday, December 25, 2023 at 5:42:57 AM UTC+1, Frank Krygowski wrote:
> On 12/24/2023 3:27 PM, funkma...@hotmail.com wrote:
> > On Sunday, December 24, 2023 at 11:01:36 AM UTC-5, Lou Holtman wrote:
> >>
> >> Every Sunday morning when riding to the meeting point of our Sunday morning ride I come across this bike path sweeper in the inner city that cleans the trash of the Saturday Neanderthaler shopping crowd:
> >>
> >> https://photos.app.goo.gl/Qp4tC99NkZPqZo9L7
> >
> > I don't see any trash in that photo, just leaves dropped from the trees..
> Wet leaves can be just as slippery as ice.
>
> >> Result:
> >>
> >> https://photos.app.goo.gl/4hEJdWLyRQ8h6nyh9
>
> I get the idea that Netherlands is a very prosperous country. Here in
> the U.S., it seems that even important roads sometimes lack that level
> of maintenance and care, usually because of budget worries.
>
> --
> - Frank Krygowski

Most people can afford to pay a lot of taxes ;-). Our roads are well maintained.

Lou

On Monday, December 25, 2023 at 3:15:51 AM UTC-8, Lou Holtman wrote:
> On Monday, December 25, 2023 at 5:42:57 AM UTC+1, Frank Krygowski wrote:
> > On 12/24/2023 3:27 PM, funkma...@hotmail.com wrote:
> > > On Sunday, December 24, 2023 at 11:01:36 AM UTC-5, Lou Holtman wrote:
> > >>
> > >> Every Sunday morning when riding to the meeting point of our Sunday morning ride I come across this bike path sweeper in the inner city that cleans the trash of the Saturday Neanderthaler shopping crowd:
> > >>
> > >> https://photos.app.goo.gl/Qp4tC99NkZPqZo9L7
> > >
> > > I don't see any trash in that photo, just leaves dropped from the trees.
> > Wet leaves can be just as slippery as ice.
> >
> > >> Result:
> > >>
> > >> https://photos.app.goo.gl/4hEJdWLyRQ8h6nyh9
> >
> > I get the idea that Netherlands is a very prosperous country. Here in
> > the U.S., it seems that even important roads sometimes lack that level
> > of maintenance and care, usually because of budget worries.
> >
> > --
> > - Frank Krygowski
> Most people can afford to pay a lot of taxes ;-). Our roads are well maintained.
>
> Lou

A block away on a street that parallel's my own they had repaved it. Then they were working on an adjacent street and rather than simply going two long blocks in the opposite direction and onto the freeway, double semi's drove right through the neighborhood streets and turned that freshly paved street into gravel! I hadn't gone that way in a long while because the road was so bad. Then I was forced to turn down it because of road work. I was sort of surprised that the road was not as I remembered it. Then I realized that the road had indeed been turned into gravel but it had all been swept off and while the road underneath was still pretty bad, it was nothing like what it had been before they looked the other way when trucks went though it. There are prominent "No Truck" signs on a lot of local streets with heavy transportation trucks using them regardless of signs. Local delivery trucks are one thing but large doubles with Peterson or Caterpillar Tractors tractors on them are supposed to be limited to roads built to take the load.

Frank Krygowski <frkrygow@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
> On 12/24/2023 3:27 PM, funkma...@hotmail.com wrote:
>> On Sunday, December 24, 2023 at 11:01:36 AM UTC-5, Lou Holtman wrote:
>>>
>>> Every Sunday morning when riding to the meeting point of our Sunday
>>> morning ride I come across this bike path sweeper in the inner city
>>> that cleans the trash of the Saturday Neanderthaler shopping crowd:
>>>
>>> https://photos.app.goo.gl/Qp4tC99NkZPqZo9L7
>>
>> I don't see any trash in that photo, just leaves dropped from the trees.
>
> Wet leaves can be just as slippery as ice.
>
>>> Result:
>>>
>>> https://photos.app.goo.gl/4hEJdWLyRQ8h6nyh9
>
> I get the idea that Netherlands is a very prosperous country. Here in
> the U.S., it seems that even important roads sometimes lack that level
> of maintenance and care, usually because of budget worries.
>

Which really is a political decision certainly for urban/suburban areas
America is far from poor, likewise the UK certainly in areas like London
they will patch holes and so on or clear debris.

Less so out in the sticks where the roads can and are in places a touch
rough! With potholes older than me!

Roger Merriman

On 12/26/2023 7:44 PM, Roger Merriman wrote:
> Frank Krygowski <frkrygow@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>>
>> I get the idea that Netherlands is a very prosperous country. Here in
>> the U.S., it seems that even important roads sometimes lack that level
>> of maintenance and care, usually because of budget worries.
>>
>
> Which really is a political decision certainly for urban/suburban areas
> America is far from poor, likewise the UK certainly in areas like London
> they will patch holes and so on or clear debris.

Of course it's a political decision.

America is the land of "No new taxes!!!" Repaving or repairing potholes
or even sweeping the pavement costs tax money. And smoooth, clean
pavement is obviously socialistic.

--
- Frank Krygowski

On 12/26/2023 9:03 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
> On 12/26/2023 7:44 PM, Roger Merriman wrote:
>> Frank Krygowski <frkrygow@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>>>
>>> I get the idea that Netherlands is a very prosperous
>>> country. Here in
>>> the U.S., it seems that even important roads sometimes
>>> lack that level
>>> of maintenance and care, usually because of budget worries.
>>>
>>
>> Which really is a political decision certainly for
>> urban/suburban areas
>> America is far from poor, likewise the UK certainly in
>> areas like London
>> they will patch holes and so on or clear debris.
>
> Of course it's a political decision.
>
> America is the land of "No new taxes!!!" Repaving or
> repairing potholes or even sweeping the pavement costs tax
> money. And smoooth, clean pavement is obviously socialistic.
>

Sort but not really.

We have crushingly high (historically speaking) taxes at all
levels as services decline or are discontinued. It's an
indicator of inefficiency at best or endemic corruption more
probably.
--
Andrew Muzi
am@yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

On 12/23/2023 5:13 PM, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
> On Sat, 23 Dec 2023 08:10:49 -0800 (PST), "funkma...@hotmail.com"
> <funkmasterxx@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>> On Friday, December 22, 2023 at 10:58:35?PM UTC-5, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
>>> On Sat, 23 Dec 2023 09:15:25 +0700, John B. <sloc...@gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>
>>>> Goodness! I thought that 17 or 18 years was a long time and now I
>>>> learn it was a lot longer.
>>> Add another 5 years. I arbitrarily selected a quote from 1997.
>>> 2023 - 1997 = 26 years
>>> However, the time span for the articles I found were from 1992 to
>>> 1997. Therefore, the earliest article was posted:
>>> 2023 - 1992 = 31 years ago.
>>> In about 2 weeks, it will be 2024, so you can also add 1 additional
>>> year for:
>>> 2024 - 1992 = 32 years ago.
>>> In that year, Tom would have been 32 years old.
>>
>> 32? since he's allegedly in his late 70's I'm thinking he would have been closer to 50 back then
>
> Oops. My mistake. Tom was born in 1944. In 1992, he would have
> been: 1992 - 1944 = 48 years old. Hopefully, when my eyesight is
> fixed, my math will improve.
>
> I thought it might be interesting to see from what company Tom was
> posting his Usenet news from in 1992. In 1992, we were just getting
> connected to the internet in Santa Cruz CA and almost everything was
> going through two local universities. That was well before 1996, when
> Sprint was first to resell bandwidth to individual users. In 1992,
> one had to be either associated with a large company or university in
> order to obtain internet access. Tom's online resume:
> <https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-kunich-22012/details/experience/>
> shows Tom working for "Various Companies" which isn't much help.
> Perhaps one of these companies had internet access?
>
> This is Tom's earliest posting that I could find (Aug 25, 1992):
> <https://groups.google.com/g/rec.bicycles.tech/c/8sQFgxIS71c/m/jc1rpspUjVIJ>
> Unfortunately, the article does not show Tom's email domain or
> signature, which would have given me a clue. About half the other RBT
> postings are from sites, companies and universities. That
> information, and much more was previously available on Google Groups,
> but was removed over the years by Google. Oh well.

Helpful hint: Clicking the reply button on a specific message in google
groups often reveals domain information. In the case of the above link
from 1992 that you provided, tom's email is listed as:

to...@netcom.com

According to a quick websearch Netcom.com was apparent;y the largest ISP
in the SF bay area at the time.

According to his resume he was "Consulting Electronics Engineer" at
"Various Companies" during that period. Interestingly, the little
snippet of the header shows the message was posted to usenet Tue, 25 Aug
92 18:11:08 GMT, translating to 10:11 AM local time.

So either tommy wasn't working, or he logged into the email account at work.

>

--
Add xx to reply

On Wednesday, December 27, 2023 at 7:36:55 AM UTC-8, Zen Cycle wrote:
> On 12/23/2023 5:13 PM, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
> > On Sat, 23 Dec 2023 08:10:49 -0800 (PST), "funkma...@hotmail.com"
> > <funkma...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> >
> >> On Friday, December 22, 2023 at 10:58:35?PM UTC-5, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
> >>> On Sat, 23 Dec 2023 09:15:25 +0700, John B. <sloc...@gmail.com>
> >>> wrote:
> >
> >>>> Goodness! I thought that 17 or 18 years was a long time and now I
> >>>> learn it was a lot longer.
> >>> Add another 5 years. I arbitrarily selected a quote from 1997.
> >>> 2023 - 1997 = 26 years
> >>> However, the time span for the articles I found were from 1992 to
> >>> 1997. Therefore, the earliest article was posted:
> >>> 2023 - 1992 = 31 years ago.
> >>> In about 2 weeks, it will be 2024, so you can also add 1 additional
> >>> year for:
> >>> 2024 - 1992 = 32 years ago.
> >>> In that year, Tom would have been 32 years old.
> >>
> >> 32? since he's allegedly in his late 70's I'm thinking he would have been closer to 50 back then
> >
> > Oops. My mistake. Tom was born in 1944. In 1992, he would have
> > been: 1992 - 1944 = 48 years old. Hopefully, when my eyesight is
> > fixed, my math will improve.
> >
> > I thought it might be interesting to see from what company Tom was
> > posting his Usenet news from in 1992. In 1992, we were just getting
> > connected to the internet in Santa Cruz CA and almost everything was
> > going through two local universities. That was well before 1996, when
> > Sprint was first to resell bandwidth to individual users. In 1992,
> > one had to be either associated with a large company or university in
> > order to obtain internet access. Tom's online resume:
> > <https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-kunich-22012/details/experience/>
> > shows Tom working for "Various Companies" which isn't much help.
> > Perhaps one of these companies had internet access?
> >
> > This is Tom's earliest posting that I could find (Aug 25, 1992):
> > <https://groups.google.com/g/rec.bicycles.tech/c/8sQFgxIS71c/m/jc1rpspUjVIJ>
> > Unfortunately, the article does not show Tom's email domain or
> > signature, which would have given me a clue. About half the other RBT
> > postings are from sites, companies and universities. That
> > information, and much more was previously available on Google Groups,
> > but was removed over the years by Google. Oh well.
>
> Helpful hint: Clicking the reply button on a specific message in google
> groups often reveals domain information. In the case of the above link
> from 1992 that you provided, tom's email is listed as:
>
> to...@netcom.com
>
> According to a quick websearch Netcom.com was apparent;y the largest ISP
> in the SF bay area at the time.
>
> According to his resume he was "Consulting Electronics Engineer" at
> "Various Companies" during that period. Interestingly, the little
> snippet of the header shows the message was posted to usenet Tue, 25 Aug
> 92 18:11:08 GMT, translating to 10:11 AM local time.
>
> So either tommy wasn't working, or he logged into the email account at work.
>
> >
>
> --
> Add xx to reply
It certainly makes this phony electronics engineer frustrqated to hear that I have done 100 times better than he could ever hope for He is left with nothing more than to deny that I am doing well and he isn't.

On 12/27/2023 10:47 AM, Tom Kunich wrote:
> On Wednesday, December 27, 2023 at 7:36:55 AM UTC-8, Zen Cycle wrote:
>> On 12/23/2023 5:13 PM, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
>>> On Sat, 23 Dec 2023 08:10:49 -0800 (PST), "funkma...@hotmail.com"
>>> <funkma...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On Friday, December 22, 2023 at 10:58:35?PM UTC-5, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
>>>>> On Sat, 23 Dec 2023 09:15:25 +0700, John B. <sloc...@gmail.com>
>>>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>>>> Goodness! I thought that 17 or 18 years was a long time and now I
>>>>>> learn it was a lot longer.
>>>>> Add another 5 years. I arbitrarily selected a quote from 1997.
>>>>> 2023 - 1997 = 26 years
>>>>> However, the time span for the articles I found were from 1992 to
>>>>> 1997. Therefore, the earliest article was posted:
>>>>> 2023 - 1992 = 31 years ago.
>>>>> In about 2 weeks, it will be 2024, so you can also add 1 additional
>>>>> year for:
>>>>> 2024 - 1992 = 32 years ago.
>>>>> In that year, Tom would have been 32 years old.
>>>>
>>>> 32? since he's allegedly in his late 70's I'm thinking he would have been closer to 50 back then
>>>
>>> Oops. My mistake. Tom was born in 1944. In 1992, he would have
>>> been: 1992 - 1944 = 48 years old. Hopefully, when my eyesight is
>>> fixed, my math will improve.
>>>
>>> I thought it might be interesting to see from what company Tom was
>>> posting his Usenet news from in 1992. In 1992, we were just getting
>>> connected to the internet in Santa Cruz CA and almost everything was
>>> going through two local universities. That was well before 1996, when
>>> Sprint was first to resell bandwidth to individual users. In 1992,
>>> one had to be either associated with a large company or university in
>>> order to obtain internet access. Tom's online resume:
>>> <https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-kunich-22012/details/experience/>
>>> shows Tom working for "Various Companies" which isn't much help.
>>> Perhaps one of these companies had internet access?
>>>
>>> This is Tom's earliest posting that I could find (Aug 25, 1992):
>>> <https://groups.google.com/g/rec.bicycles.tech/c/8sQFgxIS71c/m/jc1rpspUjVIJ>
>>> Unfortunately, the article does not show Tom's email domain or
>>> signature, which would have given me a clue. About half the other RBT
>>> postings are from sites, companies and universities. That
>>> information, and much more was previously available on Google Groups,
>>> but was removed over the years by Google. Oh well.
>>
>> Helpful hint: Clicking the reply button on a specific message in google
>> groups often reveals domain information. In the case of the above link
>> from 1992 that you provided, tom's email is listed as:
>>
>> to...@netcom.com
>>
>> According to a quick websearch Netcom.com was apparent;y the largest ISP
>> in the SF bay area at the time.
>>
>> According to his resume he was "Consulting Electronics Engineer" at
>> "Various Companies" during that period. Interestingly, the little
>> snippet of the header shows the message was posted to usenet Tue, 25 Aug
>> 92 18:11:08 GMT, translating to 10:11 AM local time.
>>
>> So either tommy wasn't working, or he logged into the email account at work.
>>
>>>
>>
>> --
>> Add xx to reply
> It certainly makes this phony electronics engineer frustrqated to hear that I have done 100 times better than he could ever hope for He is left with nothing more than to deny that I am doing well and he isn't.

Anyone else's fire alarm set off by this clown blowing incompetent smoke?

--
Add xx to reply

On 12/27/2023 9:20 AM, AMuzi wrote:
> On 12/26/2023 9:03 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
>>
>> America is the land of "No new taxes!!!" Repaving or repairing
>> potholes or even sweeping the pavement costs tax money. And smoooth,
>> clean pavement is obviously socialistic.
>>
>
> Sort but not really.
>
> We have crushingly high (historically speaking) taxes at all levels as
> services decline or are discontinued. It's an indicator of inefficiency
> at best or endemic corruption more probably.

Historically speaking high taxes? Are you comparing to pre WW1?
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/72/Federal%2C_State%2C_and_Local_income_tax_GDP.pdf/page1-1200px-Federal%2C_State%2C_and_Local_income_tax_GDP.pdf.jpg

I don't doubt that corruption exists. As an example, Ohioans were
famously hit with utility fees generated by bribe-enabled legislation
that's led to federal prosecutions of powerful state legislators.
Incredible amounts of money changed hands illegally, and I'm still angry
that there are companies and politicians so far unpunished. I'll note
that the politicians who benefited were all right wing.

But at the level of street paving? I doubt that fortunes are being made
illegally, and I also doubt that inefficiencies are huge. There is a
right wing myth of super-efficient private enterprise vs.
super-inefficient government; but what I've observed on both sides does
not match that at all.

And as usual, I'd be interested in what model you'd prefer we emulate.
The tax-to-GDP list in this page puts the U.S. pretty low.
https://www.oecd.org/tax/revenue-statistics-united-states.pdf
We could copy Mexico, I suppose. But I think I'd rather copy Netherlands.

--
- Frank Krygowski