Road Rage

The way roads and communities are planned in the US is deliberate and criminal. It's not about making things better for the people, but about fattening the pockets of corporations, from the engineering companies, builders, car makers, car parts manufacturers and, of course, oil companies.

They get more say about transportation policy than the average citizen or someone who knows anything about it. 

It's not an accident that in the US people have multiple cars just to get things done. The American obsession with cars and bigger highways is not a result of Americans' 'love for the open road,' or some 'freedom.' That's just kitschy corporate propaganda, and always was. 

It is all about trapping people on suburban islands and making them dependent on private means of transport which eats up incomes, tremendous amounts of time, and health. 

US is a prime example of terrible urban planning. What is sorely needed is less cars, and more mass transit, especially light rail. For a country that prides itself on innovation and imagination, the US is downright primitive in its thinking when it comes to the theory of urban design and transportation. 

So what if there are impressive roads and highway systems in the US? Has anyone ever for once thought about whether it is all necessary, and about how to maybe make things humbler, but more functional and economical? Only a fool will not see that this road misery is all planned. 

Notice the absence of sidewalks where they should be. In other countries, you can get to wherever you're going by using a sidewalk, or bike path. Even in Canada sidewalks take you farther.

In the US, a suburban development is cut off from the town, even if the town is half a mile down the road. It can't be reached over such a short distance because a sidewalk between the two either doesn't exist, or cuts off after 20 feet of the development entrance.

The US public transportation policy is made to cater to the exclusive needs of private corporations, who in one way or another reap large profits from enslaving people in cars and suburban islands.

This is how private interests feed off of the lack of efficient public transportation system:

-Houses are deliberately built away from towns and cities, and inaccessible without a car
-Shopping centers are concentrated away from convenient walking distance
-Lack of sidewalks prevents people from walking
-No trolley or bus service runs beyond city limits
-Highways need to be constantly improved and built, sucking away tax payer money which should be spent on the public transportation system
-Cars use gas which profits the oil companies
-Cars need to be insured which profits insurance companies
-Cars break down and must be fixed. Repair shops and car parts manufacturers profit
-Eventually, cars wear out, and new ones have to be bought. Car manufacturers profit

The more driving is done in a car, the faster it wears out. This process has accelerated in the US, where a car is needed to get virtually anything done, if one doesn't live in a big city. The quality of cars has also taken a nosedive, guaranteeing that the car will now fail even quicker.

The American public has been deliberately conned and inconvenienced to trap them into perpetual car usage.

This has been done by corrupt urban planners and governments, from Washington to the local city council.

The demise of small mom n' pop stores in favor of big-box retailers has also forced people to go ever greater distances to do their shopping.

This over-dependence on cars and less walking has also negatively affected peoples' health, and will continue to do so.

Traffic delays for whatever reason lead to a lot of wasted time, stress, and frustration that is not good for anyone's physical and mental well-being.

None of this is an accident. It cannot be chalked up to simple stupidity, a blunder, or lack of foresight in the past. If this was the case, then cities and towns throughout the US would've moved to correct these mistakes years ago. But they haven't.

So this is 100% deliberate urban planning to trap the public into a never-ending cycle of gouging and profiteering by private interests who make billions of dollars per year off making sure that a person must have a car, and no efficient and economical public transportation.