Chapter 1563 You should speak English
Xiao Peng is very confused now.
Infrastructure construction isn't profitable? Are you kidding me? Not counting the related industries it drives, how many jobs can this create?
Daxia's rapid economic growth in recent years has also created numerous conflicts. Infrastructure development, in addition to stimulating the economy, has largely alleviated social conflicts. Infrastructure development is truly a good thing. Yet, you claim that infrastructure development isn't profitable?
Charles repeated, "That's right. Infrastructure construction is definitely not profitable! At least it's definitely not profitable here right now. That's why no one is doing infrastructure construction anymore."
Huh? Are the national conditions so different?
Charles sighed and said, "Let me tell you this: roughly a quarter of our country's bridges are over fifty years old, and they're still standing. There's a dam to our west that was built in 1934, and it hasn't been rebuilt, just repaired and still in use. It's been failing for six consecutive years now."
1934? Xiao Peng thought about it and suddenly realized that it was the golden age of American infrastructure. From the 1920s to 1939, the United States had been engaged in infrastructure construction for nearly twenty years. Countless houses, bridges, sports fields, school buildings, and hospitals in the United States today were built during that period.
Although construction paused for a while due to World War II, they resumed infrastructure construction after the war ended. It wasn't until the late 1950s, when they realized they had all the necessary infrastructure and there was nothing left to do, that they paused. The vast majority of America's current infrastructure dates back to that period.
Charles sighed, "Those were good times. My father told me about those days. Anyone who invested in infrastructure back then could make a fortune. Our farm also benefited from that infrastructure."
"Why is this?" Xiao Peng asked puzzledly.
Charles explained, "Over a hundred years ago, a vast amount of land across our country lay idle, and the West was a desolate place. To encourage capitalists to invest and develop the West, the federal government offered generous conditions, such as free land to railroad companies. In 1864, a law was passed that provided forty miles of land along any railroad line, plus a reward of over $10,000 per mile. That was over $10,000 over a hundred years ago! The capitalists who invested in the railroads became large landowners, and to recoup their capital, land was sold at very low prices. Don't be fooled by the fact that Houston is now the fourth largest city in the United States. Before World War II, it was just a small town with a permanent population of less than 50,000. Back then, land was incredibly cheap. My grandfather bought his farm back then. Do you think my family benefited from that time?"
Xiao Peng nodded. This was indeed true. "But this is no excuse not to build infrastructure now! Aren't you afraid that India will laugh at you?"
"India?" Charles looked at Xiao Peng in confusion: "Why are they laughing at us?"
Xiao Peng smiled but said nothing.
Why mention India? Because in the eyes of Indians, they are the country with the longest road mileage in the world.
Generally speaking, kilometer mileage is a reflection of a country's economic level. Basically, the more developed a country is, the longer its total highway mileage is. Daxia's total highway mileage is undoubtedly the first in the world, far exceeding the second-placed United States. However, in terms of total road mileage, the United States is first, the European Union is second, and Daxia is third.
There is a problem here: they think they are the best in the world!
The US has 6.8 million kilometers of road, the EU has 6.1 million kilometers, and Bactria has 4.8 million kilometers. And what about India? Over 8 million kilometers! And their calculations... are damn correct!
How does India calculate its total road mileage? It simply adds up its expressways, national highways, state highways, and local roads. This is a similar approach across the globe. For example, India's roads are categorized into five levels: expressways, first-class highways, second-class highways, third-class highways, and fourth-class highways. First-class highways are national highways, second-class highways are provincial highways, third-class highways are county roads, and fourth-class highways are township roads. These roads must have at least four lanes in both directions and have supporting facilities that have passed national inspection before they can be counted.
How does India calculate its statistics? Their highways are practically negligible. Their total length is only 1,583 kilometers, roughly 1% of Bactria's. And their highways are used by virtually everyone: motorcycles, ox-drawn carts, horse-drawn carriages, tractors, pedestrians. Even elephants are common, and the roads are not closed; you can easily get on them.
National highways account for less than 1% of the total road mileage, 15% of which are two-way single lanes. State highways, roughly equivalent to provincial roads, account for about 3% of the total mileage, 75% of which are two-way single lanes. Next are local roads, 99% of which are narrow dirt roads. These roads wouldn't even be counted in road statistics in other countries, but what about Indians? Anywhere motorcycles, cattle, and people can pass is considered a road...
Then Indians use this incident to mock the Americans all day long: How dare you say you are the best in the world? We are the real best in the world!
Charles didn't pursue Xiao Peng's question, but continued, "Infrastructure construction should be a government-organized effort. But look at us here? Two political parties take turns in power, and the first thing they do when they take office is to abolish the other party's policies. Even if they build infrastructure, the projects often end up unfinished. Isn't the California high-speed rail construction the best example? Even if local governments want to build infrastructure, they can't get enough funds. For the higher-ups, spending money on military equipment is worse than spending money on infrastructure. They can make more money that way, right?"
Xiao Peng was a little surprised when he heard this: "Char, why do I feel like your conversation isn't simple?"
Xiao Peng had already learned from his conversation with Chaer that Chaer owned a family farm, a small airplane pilot school, and would also help other farms with tasks like spraying pesticides for a fee. However, none of these jobs seemed to involve a focus on current affairs.
Charles laughed and said, "Okay, let me formally introduce myself. My name is Charles Weisman, and my other job is the mayor of Sugar Land."
Xiao Peng suddenly understood. It wasn't surprising. He wasn't nervous at all. "Mayor of Sugarland?" In China, Sugarland would be at best a town mayor—no, more like a village chief!
However, Charles' next words surprised Xiao Peng. He spoke directly in fluent Chinese.
But……
Xiao Peng looked a little embarrassed: "You should speak English."
Damn, Charles speaks Cantonese. Even though Xiao Peng knows a lot of languages, he has never learned the Cantonese dialect in Chinese...
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