Not so friendly reminder that musk specifically came up with, and pushed, for hyperloop knowing that it would never be made, as an effort to stop the development of highspeed rail in America and shift all political discussions of it because “something better is around the corner”:

As I’ve written in my book, Musk admitted to his biographer Ashlee Vance that Hyperloop was all about trying to get legislators to cancel plans for high-speed rail in California—even though he had no plans to build it. Several years ago, Musk said that public transit was “a pain in the ass” where you were surrounded by strangers, including possible serial killers, to justify his opposition.

source: new york times

Also: 2024 update, the total length of China’s high-speed rail tracks has now reached well over 45,000 km, or 28,000 miles, by the end of 2023.

They are additionally five years ahead of schedule and expect to double the total number within ten years. And, before someone inevitably complains about “how expensive it is”, they are turning over a net-profit of over $600M USD a year.

Via

  • @[email protected]
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    122 days ago

    Why not substantially? The surplus from land ownership is “unearned income” - we’re basically giving a goverment handout to landlords right now. Land value is different from acreage, so your house would see very little increase in taxes.

    • @Cryophilia
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      -122 days ago

      Look, I’m not gonna bother with your evangelist tax pitch. Increasing the tax revenues of California by at least 30% is A LOT of new taxes, regardless of the source.

        • @Cryophilia
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          122 days ago

          …a lot of people care. An extra 30% lost would be financially ruinous for a lot of people.

          • @[email protected]
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            122 days ago

            It’s fortunate that increasing California’s taxes by 30% doesn’t necessarily impact a lot of people, then.

            Land value is different from acreage, so your house would see very little increase in taxes.

            I’m not evangelizing the woke narrative at you. This is just how land value taxes have always worked.

            • @Cryophilia
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              122 days ago

              It would absolutely affect Californians. 30% is a lot. The money has to come from somewhere

              • @[email protected]
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                121 days ago

                And yet, it wouldn’t be 30% on a lot of Californians. The ones who would pay the most are landlords who would not be financially ruined. You need to read the Wikipedia article.

                • @Cryophilia
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                  121 days ago

                  Told you, not interested. I don’t think you even care about high speed rail.

                  • @[email protected]
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                    21 days ago

                    If you’re not willing to learn how taxes work, then you should stop trying to spread that ignorance.