New England Diary

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Finally!

The MBTA’s Green Line extension, which opened last month.

From Robert Whitcomb’s “Digital Diary,’’ in GoLocal24.com

Consider that the MBTA’s Green Line Extension was first proposed in 1991 but  only opened last week, or that extending commuter rail to Dulles International Airport from downtown Washington, D.C., was proposed in the ‘60’s but that extension only opened last week!

(Those who oppose spending tax money on creating or improving commuter rail and subway lines should look at the huge taxpaying development that occurs along them. Yes, millions of people want to get out of their cars and use mass transit if it’s close to them and provides frequent and reliable service.)

We could take many lessons from the likes of Western Europe and Japan on how to apply and maintain  systems created  in part or wholly because of American inventions. In the past few decades, America’s reputation as a place for completing big projects using these inventions has slipped, to no small degree because of too many layers of regulation, too many selfish and politically powerful special interests and runaway litigiousness. Let’s hope that  the vast promise of fusion energy helps turn that around.

The invention of  the likes of Facebook and Twitter doesn’t  seem to have advanced America. But you can join the Metaverse and Cryptoworld,  where nothing is real!