Thoughts about the relationships between transport and the urban area it serves
John Bird and John Fortune have been doing these dialogues for years on tv and radio in Britain. They follow a very strict formula. They quote accurately from published sources and only speak the truth. None of what you hear is in any way an exaggeration for effect. As with all good performances, they actually tone it down from what you would hear if you spoke to a real merchant banker.
I am a recusant transportation economist and regional planner, displaced from England by the abolition of the Greater London Council and a dislike of Thatcherism. Until March of 2004 I worked for the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority on wide variety of policy issues. None of these have been solved since I left, and the region now seems to be likely to abandon its long established growth strategy altogether, as the province is determined to expand its major freeway. I have long advocated more sensible policies to better integrate transport and land use. And this blog is a way to keep up the pressure! It also allows me to vent a bit on related issues.
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I wasn`t going to comment on this story until I read this article on cnbc——john paulson (hedge fund manager) was reported to have made 3.7 billion in personal wealth last year—–apparrently he bet that the us housing market would slump, and bet that the risky mortgage paper would collapse! how can you bet peoples investments are going to fail? the story went on to say that these hedge fund operators typically make ( 2% of what you invest and 20% of your profits—-but apparently hedge funds that have performed well in the past, are now demanding an unbelievable 5% of initial investments and 40% of profits!!!! ) it did not mention what happens when hedge funds fail!– what a racket !!!— I believe mr. kunstler is right————-one last note—wage inequity reached an all time high in 2007 from the top 5%— and the remainder, the last time the range was so wide was 1928 THE YEAR BEFORE THE GREAT DEPRESSION signed…………………………………………why did work safe bc`s investments lose 700million last year in finacial markets, and how much did they really lose— AND WHY THE HELL IS WORKER PENSION MONEY BEING GAMBLED ——their value of investments fell to about 11.1 billion—WHY CAN1T THEY PUT THAT MONEY AS HIGH AS IT IS —-into a safe bank( like maybe the bank of canada)
grant g
April 16, 2008 at 5:14 pm