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Comment by fnid | Hacker News Reader

The information super highway is every bit as important to the future of our nation as vehicle highways were in the 1950's.

For the most part, you don't have to pay to drive on Interstates. There are exceptions in and around some major cities like Chicago, but imagine where we would be today if it cost money to drive on every road.

We couldn't leave a project like the highway system in the hands of a private corporation. Imagine what we could build with investment from an organization with a vision of decades rather than months.

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>>We couldn't leave a project like the highway system in the hands of a private corporation.

I have to completely disagree with you, I believe you take too much on faith. We don't know what would've happened, but it's very possible that a better alternative could exist.

1. How much richer would everyone be if they were able to keep there tax dollars. 2. Without subsidizing cars, perhaps trains would still be a viable option. 3. Traffic may not be as much of a problem; maximum speeds would not be so ridiculously low. 4. We might see less urban sprawl.

That's an interesting alternative that may very well be true. I don't think it carries over to this discussion quite that well, as I'm not sure what the equivalent of urban sprawl, trains/group transit are in the context of internet infrastructure.

But still, an interesting take.

Imagine if we had multiple companies building separate highways alongside each other, competing for traffic.

We don't have to imagine too hard - see NYC and the building the of the subway system. Three companies (IRT, BRT, IND) building lines somewhat independently, leaving some areas covered by multiple lines and some areas underserved.

New York has multiple subway lines? What a waste. Sorry, I've never been to New York City.

We know what would have happened: It wouldn't have happened.

The claim lots of people make about "we'd be richer if we kept our taxes" is erroneous. How much richer would we be if we didn't have to pay for the operation of the network and the profits to thousands of shareholders who add no value? There are scales of projects where the profit motive hampers development.

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