Classic Stossel: Free Market Roads
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 ส.ค. 2024
- In Britain, a local highway was damaged by heavy rains. When government said it would take a year to repair it, entrepreneur Mike Watts built a “private road” in just 12 days.
The road cost him about $250,000 to build. He put his house up as collateral. He charges $3 to cross, less for locals.
A Classic Stossel from 2015
Amazing how they tried to slow him down to invalidate his effort while picking up the pace to not be completely embarrassed. Had he done nothing that road would still be 2-3 years away and further over budget.
Perhaps that was half the point of him building the toll road, to hurry the government along lol
Obstruction to everything better than government bureaucrats is SOP - they can't survive when faced with private operations
The Main road was built 4 months later after he built his road, he lost money and had to close his road due to not being used anymore.
I think they like it slow and boring. and then they can blame others and what not. and then a citicen comes along and say 1 year? I think I could do it in a month. and your right they get embarrased like oh crap if only the public realises we sleep out our desk most of the time.
I'm here from the Government and I'm here to *"HELP"!!!* 😎👌
Government standard is: take as long as possible to do the cheapest job possible at the highest cost possible so you can get the most kickbacks possible.
as well as keep your job and expand your department as much as you can
make sure the asphalt is poured evenly, even though its paper thin, so it looks nice the first few months.
"take as long as possible to do the cheapest job possible" - you forgot to add: With the lowest quality possible.
@@steverennie5787 Of course, the low quality is important so that you can get ANOTHER job out of fixing potholes.
Truer words have never been spoken..
Great video. A key point is that the road cost 1/10th of what the government was going to spend. That's a lesson for anyone who thinks taxes are some kind of necessary price to have infrastructure. The overwhelming majority of the money goes to nonsense.
In America the fed make 66 million dollars a day off of fuel taxes.... And each state has their own.... Very little of that money goes to roads....
On the contrary, taxes ARE necessary for infrastructure. It's just corrupt and bureaucratically inefficient.
@@ActuatedGear did you actually watch the video? A guy who didn't know f-all about building roads built one with his own money.
All governments everywhere and for all time have been corrupt. The trick is to keep them relatively weak by not having a lot of taxes. This is the one and only thing that can keep government mischief-making to a minimum.
Our tax dollars go to aid packages for foreign lands , and then 1/10 of 1/10 goes to whatever they claimed
@@smokedbrisket3033 Yes. That's the point I made.
Glad he at least broke even! Government hates competition!
That's why we have Rico laws in the US..... Because government doesn't like competition...
He didnt 4 months later the main road was built he lost money and thus had to close the road due to non-usage.
And don’t forget that he broke even despite all the government harassment that also cost thousands to deal with, meaning it likely would have been somewhat profitable if not for them abusing their position.
Also remember that they wasted taxpayer money by spending time to harass him, and likely embezzled millions from the other road.
@@rationaldemon195 watch it again dummy, it clearly said he broke even after all was said and done.
Do you even know what breaking even means? Having to close a business is not the same thing as not having covered all the costs it incurred.
@@liquidsnakex I know what the video stated, but i have my skeptism i dont blindly believe everything what the video stated, i was curious about how well was the buisness because this video was recorded in 2015, i wanted to know how its going and were there any dificulties, on the updated story in other sources stated he lost money, he didn't broke even and after 4 months after building the road the main road open, he didnt collect enough money intime to break even and the main road was being used more then his road so he had to close his road and buisness.
You can google up the events and see the updates to get your conclusion, don't blindly accept everything what the video stated and do some research.
I dont disagree the point of citezens building roads but the point he made about breaking even was just a mistake on his part.
The biggest issue with government roads is that they are obligated by contracts to hire specific companies for the job, who are unionized and demand outrages payouts , while doing minimal work.
All because of the Bacon Davis act. Actually it’s worse than that. Under that insane law, non union workers get paid union scale if the job is over about 25,000.00. We, the taxpayer, get screwed either way.
It is lovely to see the government getting backfired over them enforcing unions regulations against private property
Ah, John Stossel, the guy who made me become a Libertarian. Thanks, John, you're doing God's work!!
I thought I was a libertarian before, but watching Stossel made me even more of one lol
The people of Honolulu, Hawaii need this guy to come and take over the railroad project on the Island of Oahu.
The project/formal studies started in late-2006, the construction was scheduled to start in December, 2009, and the costs of the project was estimated to be about $5.3 billion.
So far (as of May, 2022), the City and County of Honolulu has already spent over $12.5 billion and the Island of Oahu still does not have a running train (and we do not know when we will have it).
When the tourists want it, it will happen.
its such a stupid project the same money could provided hundreds of free buses to anyone with hawaii id
@@imchris5000 : But Honolulu has one of the worst traffic jams among cities in the U.S.
Since Oahu is just a small island, there are not enough land to build that many roadways and not enough money to improve the existing roads. Additionally, many local people would be horrified at a thought of having to take a bus anywhere (yes, there are many snobs & materialistic people here).
@@SV-kr9fu no room for roads so just eminent domain a bunch of land for a rail way makes sense
@@imchris5000 : Politicians do what politicians do best, screwing people over.
I do remember this story a few years back and I'm glad John Stossel did this story. The person who created this road (length was 400 yards) did something what the councils or another government agency couldn't do and that's the beauty of the free market.
$3 to drive 400 yards? Now I know why private tollroads aren't a thing.
@@Pining_for_the_fjords depends on where it is, genius.
If that 400 yards saves you from having to take an alternate route that’s 10x longer, it could very well be worth it.
The fact that customers were there when filming and the fact that he broke even on a 300,000k investment (+gov harassment charges), proves that people wanted it, enough to pay for it over 100,000 times.
@@liquidsnakex This guy saw a need and filled it, despite several setbacks and at great financial risk to himself. I admire that completely. However, I'm glad this isn't more common. Imagine driving to a new city and being met with a network of small private roads, each of different lenght, with different signage, different fees, different methods of payment, some you have to stop at, some may only take cash, some you have to pay for online or with an app. Even where some offer an advantage in being shorter, you would always have to weigh the cost/distance/time balance for every trip you make. Just look at the industry of private parking, or public EV charging (especially when the industry was new) then extrapolate that to the road network. I admire this guy for his initiative, but his story only strengthens the argument against private enterprise for such ubiquitous and essential things as roads.
@@Pining_for_the_fjords Setbacks? That's an interesting way to frame attacks by the mafia.
How often do you think the local government insists upon "archaeological studies" on roads they contract? The correct answer is never, this was clearly a case of rules for thee, but not for me.
Nothing in your comment addresses the elephant in the room... the fact that other people definitely wanted it, were willing to pay for it over 100,000 times, and you not being one of them doesn't give you any right to team up with the mafia to use thug tactics against them, all while robbing them to pay for your (far more expensive) preference.
After all, you always have the option to use your government option, which in this case means taking the long way around for 3 years, paying 12 times the price for it whether you use that road or not 🤡
@@Pining_for_the_fjords I can understand where you're coming from. In the story above there was another alternative as it is driving 18 mile diversion (what we call here in the UK) majority of the people would rather pay the £2 fee for a 400 yard shortcut.
Stossel watching your videos is like brewing coffee that just been roasted. Keep them coming. Big fan.
feeling good without the strong dose of reality.
The telling sentence is when Mike started doing interviews, the public road got done faster.
Me and my mum used this toll to get to wales. Massive time saver! Even after the road opened again sometimes due to traffic that route is quicker
Bureaucrats always need to feel important. If you’re doing something without their approval, they’ll object to everything until their narcissistic mind is satisfied. That’s government around the world.
Well, maybe they feel important, but not because they are capble to do so many useful things, but rather make other people not to do.
As a kid in the early 80s the news ran a story of how a hammer cost the US govt $400. I asked mum why when they only cost $5 (or whatever it was then) in the store. Her answer in short - red tape. Early lesson that stuck with me.
Thank you for our daily reminder that the government is the worst possible "solution" for any problem.
We ban monopolies. Why? Because they are unquestionably bad for the consumer. And yet people continue to support the largest and most anti-consumer monopoly of all: government.
"The scariest words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help" - Ronald Reagan
Because the government is so good at doing things, they shouldn't be allowed to touch anything.
In my view, the government should only be doing that which CANNOT be done by private individuals or businesses, even if private parties aren't doing it at the moment. And that includes schools and charities.
@@ROGER2095 So the government shouldn’t do anything?
@@franknuzzo2576 No. The government shouldn't do what CAN be done by private citizens or companies. Some examples: Fighting wars cannot be done by private companies so that becomes a duty of government. Making fighter jets and tanks CAN be made by private companies so should not be made by government. Schools CAN (and are) be operated by private companies, so the government should NOT be operating them.
You can make the argument that the government should be paying for education and other public things. My point is, the government should not be operating them.
@@ROGER2095 Why can’t private citizens fight wars? Americans have hundreds of millions of privately owned guns. Good luck trying to invade the US even without government.
@@franknuzzo2576 If Canada tried to invade us - by ground - then I see your point. But if China or Russia launches a nuclear missile from 1000's of miles away, do you suppose a well-armed, well-trained American population could defend us? Swiss and Israel citizens are armed and trained - But they also have government run armies.
Endless regulation , it’s one reason they’ve managed to double the price of fuel in less than a year n a half.
and just generally being hostile towards your own people. But yes I agree. Regulate everything seems to be the government motto these days
" if it moves tax it, if it keeps moving regulate it, if it stops moving subsidize it" ... Ronald Reagan....... And this is the simplest explanation of how government works...
"I hope the bloke makes a million quid out of it" - now THAT is the right attitude.
The problem is,
If he made a million quid, he would make billions of quid. You'd a have a corporate takeover of roads, and government would still tax you for those very roads. you'd soon have a wallmart of road builders, doing the cheapest roads possible, and charging as much as possible.
I'm all for ppl making roads, but there would have to be a limit to how much can be charged, and no dbl dipping by corrupt governments.
@@yoshisaidit7250 nah, people should be free to choose. if he made a billion pounds with people enthusiastically handing money over to him for his service, then why not? he's only gonna use the money to open up more good roads. and he'll have to compete with others to provide better services at better prices.
@@yoshisaidit7250 No, because you will drive on the road that has the lowest toll. They will be forced to be competitive.
@@anthonygreenfield123
Sure thing,
And we could be on a video media platform that doesnt censor have the comments and content. We could have a different form of twitter that doesnt censor and commit fraud.
@@yoshisaidit7250 Once they go too far, we will! Even if a company had a so-called monopoly on an industry, if they abuse their power too much, there's a point at which enough people will decide the costs outweigh the benefits of using their goods or services and simply decide to stop using them - the company is then forced to adapt or go out of business.
In usa here. Good show man. The world needs more people like him. If all the politics were gone it would be hard but we.d survive. If all the free thinkers were gone we.d have nothing left. Government is necessary however to much and it destroys it self
Less Government means less bullshit
Yet, when there's some perceived, "problem", the first words out of most peoples mouths is, "the government should do something about this"!
@@theanomalous1401 Maybe it's because the government seized the authority for these things at gunpoint, hmm? But obviously the citizens are at fault for expecting the government to do its job. How dare!
@@theanomalous1401 Those words aren't gonna come from libertarians. But if the libertarian is forced to pay taxes anyway, why should one deny himself of "free" service?
Amazing! Couldn't agree more, regulation and cronyism cause this! Here they paved a section of the Merritt Parkway, it was nicely done. Six months later they start cutting random slots in this same section, this has been going on for years and the traffic is absolutely insane. It often takes a hour to go a mile, I can ride 20mph on my bicycle.
Bridgeport on the other hand paved an entire main road in about 1-2 days, AMAZING, it was really well done no bumps! The parkway and i95 are all chopped up and bumpy. I don't know how you could do such a bad job filling all the holes and I'm sure hundreds of millions of dollars are being spent on this work, sometimes it actually improves the road like with the Q bridge (just took 20 years..) most of the time it just creates traffic for years and the road is a mess, I think they are doing such a bad job in some spots it's very dangerous to drive through these spots, and they're major routes! Insanity.
Mommy government needs you to need her and she will break your knees to make it happen.
Well if there is more traffic people will move closer to the city where the price of housing is(kept) high ; ) and that's great for land values ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
Thanks Mr. Stossel for showing us one of your classic videos that reminds us of your impressive career.
Sounds like the local government needs to implement some regulations to prevent anyone else from trying to solve a problem the government struggles to solve. Otherwise people might start catching on to how many things we can do without the government. That'll hurt politicians pockets and frankly that is unacceptable.
It seems like the only struggle they were having is where to stuff all the pork from the deal before a concerned citizen actually solved the problem in 2 weeks. Why as a society do we continue to allow ourselves to be ruled over like this? Seems foolish to continue participating in a system that’s completely set up to rob you.
Stossel the goat 🐐
What does that mean?
Greatest Of All Time
Do a segment on how Brightline is building a high speed rail system in Florida. It will be massively more efficient than the "free" government run I-95.
Also, California tried to do a government funded high speed rail but its been plagued with all kinds of issues. High speed rail is long overdue and vastly superior to massive roads that are jammed whenever lots of people want to use them, but it took a private company in a red state with no income tax to break through.
Comparing a private rail to a public interstate is still comparing private to public, not rail to road. And I rather enjoy my car, I don't care how efficient rail is; I refuse to be subjugated to the airline or NYC subway experience every time I ride to work. My car doesn't have any waits, any delays, any randos in the corner jacking off, any crying toddlers shitting in the walk way, or any assholes skipping out of fares.
@@utmbunderground perhaps the experience of riding rail overall can be more pleasant than the specific instance of using the NYC subway, which has not been maintained or expanded much ever since the city took it over from the "greedy" private companies that built it.
Look for interviews with riders of the current Brightline rail in Florida, for instance.
@@utmbundergroundhe would of compared it to a public railway but the government haven’t even built it so in that case it is infinitely expensive and will take 100 years
My lovely and incompetent and corrupt government allowed a road developer the concession to build and operate a 70-mile 2-lane highway costing $151 million through the countryside. The developer/owner collects tolls of about $40 roundtrip for a car and also collects a shadow toll from taxpayers. The shadow toll is to make up for less than expected/projected vehicles using it. The shadow toll averages $50 million a year (in 2021 it was $80m) and so taxpayers have paid $400 million in shadow tolls for the $150 million road so far. The best part is the 30-year contract so maybe $1.5 billion for a $151 million road. As I said, incompetence and corruption but it is a privately operated road where 99% of the company shares are in a Cayman Island company with secret shareholders. And private is always better than public?
The mistake is in assuming they're "incompetent." To the contrary, they're highly competent-able to commit such misdeeds with impunity-it's that their goal is tyranny, not serving the public good as they claim. Bureaucrats steal from society, and then have almost everyone falling on their swords to defend them in doing so.
One has to be highly skilled to achieve such an outcome. "Mistaken" or "Incapable" are just easier pills to swallow than "Evil."
Whereas the developer left to his own devices would lower the tolls to increase traffic and potentially make more money.
Identical situation in Poland.
Where is this?
@@cisium1184 Exactly. A 60 dollar toll?! Fuck, I'd drive around that too.
Sadly, we ignored our governments for far too long. And now we have this cesspool of corruption that we aren't able to course correct, easily. Exactly, what the founding fathers wanted to avoid.
guys like me have always complained about regulations in the west and the red tape and I came from an Asian Tiger first world country. I was always told "if you do not like go back where you came from." Well by ignoring it you guys have allowed your government to be a monster that you cannot control anymore.
I’ve worked on P3 projects, design build and design bid build and sometimes stossel oversimplifies things. P3’s and DB are awful from my own experience. Costs come in higher, quality is horrendous and it creates so much disruption when you have cut corners and have to redo work
That being said there are dumb onerous environment, public consultation and archeological regulations that hold projects up. It’s made worse by politicians who want more discussions with the public
"But who will build the roads?!"
Anyone interested in having said roads built. Prime example are supermarkets and malls - they're VERY interested in people being able to come do business with them.
Or even anyone who sees the need and wants to make a profit from it.
"A lot of people go in round about way from A to B. I'll make a straight road"
Meanwhile the gov would just say "the road exists. Deal with it"
Hell they already use private contractors. Even if people don't want to deal with toll gates, those same private contractors could just open up websites where communities can directly pitch in their money for road projects.
drive to Miami.
you will see why Florida doesn't have income tax.
we tax tourist
Simply elegant and effective, therefore not the government way.
@@Zetact_ The people can do it themselves, even. In some countries, when a poor family needs cash badly (it's always for medical emergencies), they'll do a food event: announce to the neighborhood they're doing it, selling tickets, then the day comes and everyone gets a bite of chicken.
Mind you, these aren't that common, which says a lot about these people not doing it for the easy cash, in any given neighborhood you'll only see these 3 or 4 times per year.
I’m happy he broke even. Well done.
Can't put a price on all the mind numbing pain they put him through to try and stop his road from being built. But I'm happy he got it done and got his money back.
He didn't he lost money, 4 months later the main road was built he had to close his road due to non-usage
@@rationaldemon195 the video literally says he broke even.
@@ExecutiveAutomotiveSociety i know the video states he broke even but i went to check the events on other places to find out what happened,(i wanted to know if he was succesfull or not since this video was recorded in 2015 you can google it up) checked all the details the owner stated the he lost money and 4 months update said the main road was finnally built.
I don't blindly believe a video, i have my skepticism and further investigate the issue if it peaks my interests. i don't dissagree the point of citezens building roads, infact it would be great but only if they are willing to understand the road science and infrastructure to comprehend the subject in matter.
@@rationaldemon195 oh got it! I was confused. Thanks for clarifying.
All good British ideas begin in the pub
Loved the lady's quote"if only the council had thought of it themselves......
I was thinking about toll roads the other day. In the US they usually have gas taxes set aside for public toll-free roads. In Canada they use a general sales tax. So in Canada you are subsizing other people to drive if you commute by foot. But I digress. The taxes help make it so that drivers don't have to stop at a toll-booth every time they want to enter a highway. We could use gas taxes to pay for private roads, but that might open the door for crony capitalism. But with that risk comes the reward of market competition, if there is a multiplicity of competitors bidding on building, maintaining, and operating the roads.
What I find interesting is the new toll system of using an electronic transponder. For the first time in history we have a seamless system through which drivers can be billed according to the exact amount of mileage they consume, and by the exact weight of the vehicle if it's a heavy commercial truck.
I think the government's only roll in road building should be in the preliminary zoning phase, ensuring that there are no land disputes and that basic standards of quality are met. Even those rolls could conceivably be privitized.
I think a completely privitized society that maintains or increases peace & prosperity represents the ultimate societal achievement.
The challenge becomes what I dub the 'Indiana Jones Effect' whereby Jones has to replace the valuable object with something else without setting off the booby-trap. We have to figure out a way of switching expensive public infrastructure with competitive private infrastructure without upsetting the public. This is the true mission of libertarians.
"You can straighten a worm, but the crook is in him and only waiting."
Mark Twain.
I used to be super pro-privatization but I have seen so many examples of companies getting monopolies on things and extorting the public that I have basically no faith in privatization anymore. Once it goes beyond one dude who is a basically honest bloke the profits are just to tempting it seems. So unless we can privatize in a way that ensures its super small scale I don't think it will work.
@@lexpox329 That is not privatization that is cronyism and granted monopoly where the gubberment picks its friends rather than let those who want to provide a service or product just do it.
Do you know what gas stations need? Customers and roads, rather than turn over tax money to the gubberment for roads they can just keep that portion and have roads built skipping the administration costs and bumble fuckery of Gubberment.
The big dig in Boston is a huge government crap hole. The Chunnel under the English channel was privately built. Under budget and done on time. What else do you need to know?
"But muh roads!" cry the socialists
😂
Hey Tik, didn't expect to see you here.
The history chad appears!
I agree with preserving archaeology and the environment! These should be the ONLY things considered when building.
John speaking with ppl from Britain, should happen more often
Mind of the "pro-free market" statist: "Sure the market can put rockets in orbit, but TO BUILD ROADS? It can never happen"
"muh roads" - every statist ever
They also don't believe private companies can put rockets in orbit
You will always be a serf.
@@btsnake And yet SpaceX did more in 4 years than NASA in 40, with 1/10th the budget.
@@wrongthinker843 yep. And probably would've done the same in the 60's too
Oh, yes. You don't dig a hole in England, until it's had an Archeological Dig to ascertain if there is a Roman villa, Anglo Saxon burial ground, or a Bronze Age round house beneath it. They have thousands of years of history on their little island, that wasn't always separated from Europe and Norway. They truly found one of their less popular kings buried outside of church grounds, beneath a parking area.
This is such an amazing story, thanks for sharing.
The only thing here I can really complain about is the quip about archaeology. It doesn't matter if you are in a city or field in Great Britain, there is a pretty good chance that you are standing on hundreds, perhaps thousands of years of history that _will_ be destroyed by putting a shovel through it. For example the 2nd biggest city in Scotland is nothing but a field today, on the surface anyways. The density of remains on that island are such that you cannot discount any piece of it. And if you care enough about your community that you do this to serve them, you should care just as much about the history of your community.
The staggering number of remarkable finds, on occasion LITERAL KINGS, found purely because of an archaeological survey (through either digging or pinpointing the location) on new construction (not sure of the exact details, but it seems to come into play anytime you dig as part of construction) is mindblowing.
Now, maybe they tossed that at this guy in a manner that would not be considered good form and if so, that is bullshit, plain and simple. But if he was talking about this regulation that says you need an archaeological survey for construction and further stipulates the protection of certain things, such as graves (which can be removed, by archaeologists, thus allowing development to continue, last I knew anyways). If that is what he was talking about, I want him to think about what would happen if people did not have to care about the ground under their feet. How many would even notice when an abbey from a thousand years ago, existing as a foundation under a field, got bulldozed to put in a new building, how many would even care? The answer is plain to see: way more people than one need, in order to justify such regulation.
caveat: and all of this, from the mouth of an avowed libertarian.
edit: I was talking about Roxburgh in Scotland. Not the current village with the same name, but the one that was actually a royal residence 800 years ago. It is basically nothing but some fields and hillocks these days, some above ground remains, but nothing that looks special at first glance or to the untrained eye.
thanks John - another lesson in common sense and the stupidity of big government - what a tangled web we are weaving for ourselves.
US never tells but when cars were new, there were many privately owned toll roads.
Where I live in illinois, it took over 20 years from beginning to plan a toll road to actual opening. As soon as they opened it, lanes were blocked as they started construction AGAIN to widen the road they finished building.
I don't think the city road is wrong or too expensive. It's a higher quality road, paved and following standards set by engineers. I'd much rather drive on the government road. But this is proof that we don't NEED government for roads. And that's a great thing.
What an awesome story. Thanks John.
Thanks for this John
This is an amazing story
"Who will build the roads?"
People who actually care.
Certainly not the pompous bureaucrats who are high on their own farts.
Another great example why private enterprise is better that big gov.
When I tell people, "Taxation is theft!" Their usual response is, "but without taxes there won't be any roads!!!!!"
I'll have to bookmark this video.
"Taxation (after a point) is theft" Schools were supposed to be for learning but now 1/2 of the school employees do everything BUT teaching. Does a town REALLY need a $3 million high school football stadium??? Does a fire department garage need a 40 foot ceiling garage when the old 50 year old station had a 20 foot ceiling?? etc, etc.
@@h.mandelene3279 things are so far out of control now that you really have to start from the position of, "absolutely, 100%, ALL taxation is theft." Then you can negotiate to the position of, "well I guess, MAYBE, we could see fit to have a TINY bit of taxes, it's still theft, but here's a nickel."
My faith in humanity is increasing because of this man, and decreasing because of the wonderful governments around the world.
IM FROM THE GOVERNMENT AND IM HERE TO HELP
Im always amazed how people can get things done either thru private or gov means and no one ever thinks maybe its the result that more important than the method
1:00-1:15, great video! Wow! To hear of an agreement of this magnitude sealed with a handshake (in the 21st century) is unheard of. But it is wonderful to see that a handshake deal can happen today.
If I’d have known this road was being built, I’d have donated to its construction as a matter of principle. Props from central Ohio.
Exactly! Too many regulations that do almost nothing.
The fact is, most things government does it should not be doing and the private sector can do it better, faster, and cheaper. It would be wise to move more things away from government control.
Amazing what a little competition does
Just a couple of guys shaking hands. This is the way.
“Government is not the solution to the problem, government IS the problem.”
-Ronald Reagan
I AM the federal deficit - RR (probably)
3:51 - spoken like a true American
Even Jeremy Clarkson can build a road. Seriously, how hard can it be?
It's not about the difficulty. As the video shows, anyone with some capital can do it. It's about the fact that government is tyranny.
Bureaucrats want power and control above all else, and false claims of serving society are just the means they use to get it.
Jezza, May and Hammond even managed to build a bridge once! The government is full of pillocks.
May could build a highway.
Brilliant job. Now we need one on private courts.
I worked for a paving company.
Paving an interstate. Our asphalt has to pass a certain density to stop water penetration. Then they force us to cut rumble strips on the shoulder and cut pockets on the center line for reflectors. Destroyed their density specs. Where the roadway fails is in those spots.
Oh if we don't don't pass 10% over density they penalize us on the contract. Go figure.
In other words we do a perfect job and they come along behind us and ruin it.
We rebuilt city streets and after we were done they decided to redo the waterlines. Saw cut and patched a new job.
I gave up. I couldn't deal with stupid government employees anymore. My boss always said that the only reason they work for the government is because the private sector would never hire them. So remember when a road project takes forever, it's not the contractor it's the government.
Very interesting seeing it in Britain but not shocking.
My bf is a traffic engineer. He's told me so many times about their projects and how it will take around 10 years sometimes to get a project done. It's ridiculous. All because of government regulations. I asked what if a private firm did the same job? It's always quicker and cheaper to do it private. I hate how taxes are spent.
I agree, usually it's FHWA and bunch of environmental and historical hoops holding back a project.
doing the lords work john
I can remember when this happened, this guy is an absolute legend. Local councils go out of their way in England to try and control specific details that don't matter. They "temporarily" introduced an appointment system at rubbish tips during the pandemic. Guess what, pandemics over and they have decided now they prefer it. So now we can't just drive to the tip with our rubbish we have to register our car to prove we live in the correct area and pre-book an appointment with a time slot to drop our rubbish off and they employ an extra person to sit at the entrance checking people's registrations.
Great show
You should always do a geologic survey before a big build in a place with that much history
I'm with Ayn Rand, everything can be and should be free market ownership
Governments job;
1. Law enforcement
2. National defense
3. Law courts
Everything else can be done through private ownership
Why can't those three be accomplished through free-market mechanisms as well? Private security, arbitration, and militias already exist.
Seems to me that once rights-enforcement is monopolized by the state, they can control everything else downstream.
@@btrbt8613 Not everyone can afford private security: Elderly, disabled, very poor people.
If you say "everything should be free market ownership," that's a restriction. The whole point of the free market is that services are provided in the most efficient manner to those most able and willing to pay for them. The three services you listed aren't the only ones the government can do best when it applies itself - the state should be allowed to be a competitor.
@@btrbt8613 Anarcho-capitalism would immediately descend into tyrannical barbarism. Warlord Bezos would have you as one of his wenches
Yep and yet there are all kinds of morons that just keep calling for more regulations.
All that regulation is done in the cause of killing entrepreneurship. Once that's done it'll be easier for the state to seize the entire economy in the name of equity, or fairness, or justice. The incessant nudge, nudge, nudge to state control.
Bingo.
Mostly there to keep the giant corporations rich.... So they don't have to worry about competition..... Or at least where I live anyway...
If he had tried to build that road in California, it would still be under construction, if they allowed it all. Every business in that state now has to have a full time "Compliance Officer" to make sure they are following all the rules and regulations the state has. It takes 6-10 years to build a power plant there as opposed to 1-2 years in any other state.
Regulations are made for people who don’t care, but bothers only those who follow them while those they were made for find ways to go around them… and that’s why we end up with so many laws and regulations that should really be left up to common sense….
I like to think good regulations exist but they can not be created haphazardly.
I like Senator Rand Paul's Read the Bills Act as a good measure.
Also, regulation needs enforcement and enforcement must be paid so abolishing the 16th Amendment would also help prevent overregulation.
Most regulations were written in blood. There are many good regulations and with extensive history and bloodshed for there to exist. Now the question comes does your goverment actually spend it on regulation or something else.
I hope we can build something like that here in New Hampshire
The archaeological survey would actually be a very good idea, given our history
Ahhh, break even after all that headache. To bad he didn't make a bunch for being a innovative
He didnt break even, 4 months later after it was built the main road was finished he had to close his road due to non-usage and lost money.
Great story!
in cali...back to over night road work.... 20 years now.
The toll booth operator is really cute :)
That's awesome.
Hello John, I would appreciate to see a video about Roe vs. Wade from you. Thanks 👍
Come to Central Florida... All we have are Toll Roads!!!! Costs me $10.00 a day to go to work and back... Where in the heck are all the taxes for roads going? The government is out of the road business but they continue to collect the taxes meant for roads. They just turned the Intrastate Highway into a Toll Road in Orlando!
Inspirational. I'd like to see that be done for private highspeed railways.
The government's cancelled the northern half of HS2, no big surprise there. Honestly if we actually let private companies build high speed rail, they would do it so much better and quicker than the government.
I think it's good for people to do stuff like this. We have a road like this in my town.
Just keep doing what you're doing John, I'm sure sooner or later the Newer Generations will Think and Figure things out
In America, you best have good liability insurance if providing a road to the public on private land.
I would vote for a libertarian if it was John Stossel. Please run for office, your the man for the job
We keep getting close to Terry Gilliam's movie Brazil
In Maine, there was talk of a private company building an East/West Highway to connect I95 to Canada. Repeated lies from the government killed it. And how longest east/west highway is a few miles and connects only two cities.
Wow. That's impressive
spot on mate, spot on!
I have thought about roads a lot since it seems to be the favourite topic for those seeking to 'undermine' libertarianism. Streets would probably be maintained by those who live there and roads by the businesses that use them most, they might charge a small fee to use them. I think public transit would have kept evolving and be so good in comparison to today that it would just be the no brainer option to take in most circumstances. There would also be a lot fewer white elephant projects like a highway or high-speed rail line to nowhere. If transportation companies didn't have to compete with the subsidised mess that is car infrastructure in its current form, things would already be a lot better.
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏 let the people do what benefits them and their community without government interference and intervention. If more people had actual skin (work) in the upkeep of their communities, rather than just paying taxes that get funneled elsewhere, our infrastructure I think would be in much better shape. Hell, our communities would be in better shape overall. Most of us wouldn't allow homelessness, or crimes, to run rampant like it does in some places. We would know our neighbors, and what we need, vs the government telling us what they are going to do to solve a problem.
@RogerWilco99 well, I am hoping that with our current supreme court justices, that they will be willing to tackle the hard questions and right the wrongs of the past. RvW i think is just the start.
@RogerWilco99 The US constitution is authoritarian nonsense. Give the SCOTUS the monopoly on judiciary. Yeah, good idea.
You should look into privately build Pont de la 25, Montreal, Canada
If I could I would hug this video😁
this is what trump was saying the whole time. too much red tape. too many middle men who need their palms greased.
john stossel is a GREAT reporter!
The story of government is 'there's no power in Yes - only in No'.
Big government always gets in the way of progress, solutions and innovation.
Amazing I had no idea that was possible
I could buy 2 acres and build a house with basic tools. I could catch rain water and compost my waste. However, the codes in my area say I need a sand mound septic tank that would cost me more than the land itself. I need a well, thermostatic heating, electricity, etc. None of which are essential to my life. On top of that almost every piece of land has restrictions that say I have to build a house that's 1300sq ft, I can't have animals, I can't have a coop, etc. It's all very expensive and difficult to navigate.
I could own a piece of land and generate tax revenue for the state. I could also provide my community with fresh food from the land. Instead, I live with my family while I wait for an opportunity to buy something.
Not sure where our society goes from here but I feel like things have gotten out of hand.