No, it's because you can trace at least some of this specific problem directly back to British imperial rule in the middle east.

I think you're misreading it. In the same way as there are people that need to ride on planes (for example for their job, or to move to where they have a job, etc), there are people that need to use social media.

For example, if you own an online store you really need to have a social media presence. Same if you are an artist, and live off of commissions. I'm sure there are plenty more examples.

Registering to vote is pretty normal. You might not have to because the government already has records of you and that is the same in America for a lot of people. For immigrants in Europe you still have to register!

If you change municipality or state in Europe you might also have to register again so they have you voting in the right local elections.

I find the wait times have gone up as they prioritise both drive thru and delivery options ahead of people actually at the counter.

I would disagree with a big part of this characterization. Specifically that prices are out of control beyond housing (which is completely fucked), but outside of that Canada has done better than most comparable countries when it comes to inflation over the last few years.

Taxes are not that crazy unless your only comparison is the US, which is a bad comparison.

I just hope it works so that people can shut up with the high speed rail only works in other places garbage. Just tell them to go visit california and see how good it is… Only works if they finish it so I hope they do.

But without main population centres is it going to be done successfully? Imo they should have started with one of the ends, so that at least there is a big trip destination.

Too late for that now and I really hope it works out and we get a good example for north american high speed rail projects to point to despite everything.

Its a shame because it is something I am actually really good at, and now it’s a completely useless skill!

Whatever helps you sleep at night I suppose

“The Great Slump was an economic depression” the first paragraph on that Wikipedia page once you fix your link.

If we exclude mixed economies and state capitalist countries we are left with basically looking at historic record so let’s do that.

There were recessions in 15the century England, not a capitalist economy at all! There was also a recession in Rome in 33 AD as well if you want to look back further. This is just from 5 minutes of googling.

It is not possible to have an economy that never contracts, just to have one where it happens nowhere near as frequently as our current systems and with far better outcomes for most people.

It is also ergonomically horrible, to the point where I prefer to use the magic track pad over the mouse.

Honestly I can’t think of a single European language where it is the case. German, Dutch, French, Spanish, Italian, Basque… none of them sound like airplane.

People have been saying the Chinese economy is a year or two away from complete collapse for the past few decades, each time for a different reason. I’ll believe it when it actually happens.

The point that everyone in the comments is getting at is that it should not be required for people to spend 1000s of dollars a month on a personal vehicle. It’s not the transit thats forcing people to be stuck in cities, it’s the lack of it and the overreliance on cars that people can’t afford!

In Spain you can totally get the bus to most places, especially touristy places! AVE is expensive but there are budget high speed operators operating now and the bus is cheap. All these options are far cheaper than owning a car (and cheaper than owning a car in a car centric country as well!).

Also those towns that don’t have good connections it’s mostly poor people living there, so rather than being stuck in cities because they don’t own cars, they’re stuck in poor rural towns because there is no transit to other places!

You’re ignoring the thing car drivers complain about the most, traffic delays. To me real freedom is being able to get to the places I need to using my own two feet, without needing to spend thousands every year on a car, insurance, etc. Headphones also exist and let you enjoy your own music while outside of a car without disturbing anyone!

What we need everywhere is a people first policy that makes it so you don’t need a car to get around, especially in cities.

I’m not sure what you are talking about with Spain. People there are not “trapped” in cities, they have good public transit in most cities and one of the best high speed rail systems in the world to get between cities, on top of that an extensive bus system that is even cheaper and extensive than the trains.