Many great ideas don't look so hot in retrospect.
Ike's plan for a nation of super highways looked really good to the automotive industry and the oil tycoons, but it has turned out to be a curse for the majority of Americans.
Even in 1952, the great iron highways built by American taxpayers and Chinese slave labor were falling into disrepair. For years the railroads used their free roads, built on land that had been handed over to them by our congress, you know, the folks we put into office to look out for our interests?
But these roads were beginning to need expensive maintenence and the corporate owners had better plans for the money they had squeezed from the farmers and shippers of goods. But we were in the year 1952, the year we planned to put a TV in every living room, and a car in every garage. And when we had done that, we would build two car garages and family rooms and vacation homes and we would haul huge travel trailers behind our one ton pickups.
The age of the gasoline engine. Every man should have at least five noisy gas engines at his finger tips.
Had Ike pushed to repair and expand our rail system we would be living in more people friendly towns today.
Far less polution, mass transit, far less congestion on city streets. No suburban sprawl. No one hour bumper to bumper commutes to the job each day. High speed rail would cut down on the need for air travel between regional cities.
Roads would still wander through towns and wind through mountains and forest land.
And we would all be happier.
Except for GM and BP.
Curious Carl
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