the left side is the train's operational speed on the right the best recorded test speed each china's currently running maglev train barrels through at a swift three hundred fifty kilometers an hour and their soon to launch flushing train will have maximum speeds of up to four hundred kilometers an hour america certainly has a long way to go before seeing such technology on its tracks stateside especially since infrastructure spending in the u.s. has remained flat since one nine hundred seventy nine so with constant lobbying efforts congressional easement of safety requirements and bureaucracy that stifles innovation america's railways may remain a relic of the twentieth century manila chan r.t. . americans are always on the move and mass public transportation is an incredibly important intra goal part of our infrastructure system especially in the more urban areas with nation what is the u.s. transit system up to par or to sarah vaughan to take

a little trip to find out as congress continues to fight political gridlock over various pro-creation bills hot button issues such as north korea in the wall there's one issue both sides of the aisle agree on infrastructure in the united states is crumbling and the congress and the white house continue to battle over the trillions of dollars and much needed repairs transit systems across the u.s. are literally falling apart here in washington d.c. the metro rail system has received more marks from the federal transit administration failure to repair significant issues with their tracks there is safety features such as lighting radio connection inside their tunnels even service communication among workers have all contributed to their failing grade. i and. to add fuel to mattress fires the agency is now engaged in a legal battle with the contractor that used to leak concrete mix for walls at a new station in the meantime mattress ridership continues to decline and the agency is asking for even more money two billion for the next decade up from one

point five billion from the previous ten years and will metro is making a push for more funds to improve its infrastructure it recently opened a gift shop with items like one hundred ninety dollars metro theme cufflinks and thirty dollars t. shirt screen printed with metro's rail system our reactions from riders came swift with comments like quit with the self-congratulatory t. shirts just focus on getting the trains to run on time penn station new york city's transit artery that connects the island's amtrak rails to the rest of the country needs over thirty billion in repairs for its tunnels damaged during hurricane sandy the so-called gateway project is now political football caught in a feud with democrat. and president trump when he ordered republicans to remove four hundred million dollars set aside for the project in the fiscal year twenty eight hundred omnibus bill and across the united states several railroad operators are struggling to implement trucking technologies that are set to automatically

slow train down around her were several fatal to real men have occurred in recent years technology term positive train control or p.t.c. must be installed by december thirty first of this year although congress has appropriated hundreds of millions of dollars for grants through the federal railroad administration to install the technology many railroad operators are failing to reach key milestones to ensure the december thirty first deadline to make matters worse president trumps recently released infrastructure plan has struck a nerve with cities and towns around the country the plan calls for generating one point five trillion for new projects by requiring cities and towns to put up eighty percent of the funding leaving the federal share to no more than twenty percent of the projects total cost this is in stark contrast with the historical precedent where the sheriff federal funding for projects average between thirty and forty percent of the projects total cost the federal government can no longer go the

infrastructure big development alone so we need partners at the state and local levels and that's balls looking at all come calm trucks like strategic alliances partnerships and joint venture it and this is what the eighty twenty rule is coming down from secretary of my child is really called for in response to critics the white house and d.o.t. secretary elaine chao have proposed that cities and towns raise taxes finding ways to attract private investors without providing specifics on how that might occur or even acknowledge that tax hikes run counter to the philosophy behind trump's recent tax cuts they're not the only option for financing infrastructure there are many other creative ways and that's what we're encouraging the state and local entities to examine their private activity ponds their asset recycling there are other types of the. access to public markets private

markets that would be in addition to those that you mentioned we're at gnostic as to the methodology and if there's any silver lining in the high in america's crumbling infrastructure perhaps is that it hasn't entirely collapsed just last year the american society of civil engineers gave the us a d. plus grade in infrastructure report card a d. minus in transit and while it may not exactly be failing a de has been deadly for america's highways railways and waterways that puts america decades behind countries like japan china and the e.u. in washington fairmont test r t. two twenty six u.s. presidential election both candidates former secretary of state hillary clinton and now president donald trump had a virtual bidding war on which one could offer more money for infrastructure proposal check it out i am asking both parties to come together to give us safe fast reliable and modern infrastructure that our economy needs and our people

deserve. as president mr trump pushed for tax cuts instead of infrastructure and that certainly is parag of although the huge allocation of resources two point three trillion dollars over ten years for the tax cuts means that there is little money and less appetite for infrastructure concurrently mr trump a campaign promise on infrastructure spending is but a distant memory with seemingly no basis in reality as to what he actually proposed back in twenty sixteen rather than doubling what ms clinton proposed or more the president has proposed less much less after taking more than a year to produce even a proposal earlier and twenty eighteen the administration finally put forth a fifty five page plan which included only two hundred billion dollars in funding i know what some of you are saying only in washington could this guy say two hundred billion dollars isn't much money i totally agree and to. hundred billion is certainly a lot of money it's huge but it isn't what mr trump promised during the campaign

nor what experts say is needed for infrastructure repairs for gosh sakes politicians all of them need to keep their word or will end up not believing anything any of them say ever and as disappointing as all that is on the infrastructure and it's really the people who work in that capitol behind me on that distant hill those members of congress and senators they can pass legislation despite or in cooperation with not just this president but any president after all they are supposed to represent americans. over thirty plus years i've seen how government works or not and infrastructure has unfortunately been little more than a few bullet point talking points for politicians for most of that time while the us was once the envy of the world with our interstate system roads and bridges has been falling apart like a cheap suit for far too long experts grade our infrastructure in the us and a d. plus a d. plus for heaven's sake and it's getting to a place where it's a definite detriment to our economy and particularly precarious from

a safety perspective many lives have already been lost due or to our poor substandard second rate infrastructure while the overall policy on the appropriation the money that is to address the infrastructure deficit are approved or more often not by congress there's another place not too far away from here where the rubber really hits the road it's time for a quick break but stick with us because when we return we look at ports and much more as we go to break here's a quiz question for you in what country was the first freeway or highway bill was it the united states germany italy or england will be back in a flash. will do. what is.

on. the wall. the single to the religious right. all first let's all go to the mother couldn't fulfill one of the lobby while collins on the. hill i. guess manufacture consensus and stick to the public well. when the room in closest to

protect themselves. with the flaming. lips and be the one percent. we can all middle of the room sick. to lose the real news is. right we're all set to start is dr. service at the studio house a signal. to. the songwriter to talk about. just maybe right after the mars explorers one knew it would appear to be. born of rock. choose to play. the.

piano slowly told them to sophie and co i'm seriously sherrick not said today we're got lots to talk about in our program and our guest is. the rock that.

even. if. i'm.

going. to prove to you and. welcome back the answer to our quiz question of what country was the first freeway or highway built was it the united states germany italy or england the answer is italy adolf hitler is widely credited with the german autobahns and u.s. president dwight d. eisenhower spoke about his time as an army general ray traveled along the y. durham and rode it was actually benito mussolini who is dictated the building of the first major freeway the eighty mile autostrada opened in one thousand and twenty four that's five years ahead of such german roads.

ports are the watery gateway to global markets and an important component of our economy but that can't continue if our port infrastructure doesn't meet the demands of the future r.t. correspondent natasha suite as more ports make up a huge portion of the u.s. economy from new york to new jersey alone while those ports make up roughly twenty percent of the nation's gross domestic product and here the port of los angeles ranks as the number one container port in the country braveness some three million jobs but the question remains that. just how long things can operate the way they are. seaports help connect american farmers manufacturers and consumers to the world marketplace and found every us state lines on roughly

fifteen seaports to handle imports and exports totally prepared eight billion dollars worth of goods each day for every one billion in u.s. exports fifteen thousand jobs are created in fact twenty three million jobs are supported by seaports alone four point six trillion dollars are tight economic activity surrounding u.s. seaports and this infrastructure holds twenty six percent of the u.s. economy united i'm calling on congress to produce a bill that generates at least one point five trillion dollars for the new infrastructure investment that our country so desperately needs during the scene the new president struck me that not clear he was dissatisfied with the country's infrastructure as a whole and recently comparing it to a foreign country supports which is what drives the economic growth nick vyas us the professor and executive director of the center for global supply chain management agrees with the president we are almost like

a third world country special when you start to crawl into asia like trying to and some of the emerging markets where they're really emphasizing in terms of space investing in this infrastructure i think we have actually really taken a backseat vias believes the main issue looming over the country is the vast political polarization happening in congress it's been even more time argue mean that in getting things done i don't think you could be a global power or a global economy and be the superpower without having the infrastructure and for michael schmidt running for darryl i says forty ninth congressional seats says the issues surrounding the country's infrastructure is enough reason to declare a national emergency that would allow us to do things like. in the davis beacon era now the davis beacon act was a a good idea at the time it was done in one nine hundred thirty three during the depression and the idea was because people were so desperate for jobs not

not for them to be taken advantage of with below market wages so you do think it's possible when the president is saying we can do things ahead of schedule under budget right but the big hema that has become the national the federal government regulations contributes to a lot of the problems in getting those things done the country's freights is projected to grow some forty five percent by two thousand and forty five and the u.s. has trade volume is expected to quadruple after twenty thirty by twenty thirty seven the u.s. will export more than fifty two million should be containers through domestic ports and to meet this room demand ryan says the country's infrastructure needs to be updated we have now come to the point where we simply cannot ignore the fact that we need a massive upgrade your infrastructure sports airports mass transit highways

and. the rail network and all of these things has to be connected with the white house has not laid out a specific plan for the country's infrastructure just yet but it is something that will indeed need congressional approval to move forward at the port of los angeles hottest weeks r.t. . and we don't move for roads and highways in our assisted by the very able alex one hyla bitch. as a canadian who has crossed the border a multitude of times from canada to the u.s. ever since i was a kid i have to say what the most striking differences when you cross over is that the roads get really bad especially when you go to some parts of michigan or new york state many are saying that now more than ever roads across the country are in dire need of improvement not only are there more cars around than ever before but because of the crumbling infrastructure getting behind the wheel is more dangerous the united states has four million miles of roads ranging from interstate highways that are fifteen lanes wide to residential streets and two thousand and sixteen

alone u.s. roads carried more people and goods over three trillion miles that's astonishing and believe it or not equates to more than three hundred fifty round trips back and forth between earth and pluto with so much motion on beat up roads people are getting hurt and many are dying according to the national safety council there were an estimated forty thousand one hundred motor vehicle deaths in two thousand and seventeen while some blame factors like high speed limits and distracted driving infrastructure also plays a part in this is see and particular with the rise in recent years of cyclist and pedestrian deaths showing that there is a clear need for revisiting the way streets are designed to make them safer for all lots of traffic also translates to lots of congestion with american drivers being stuck in traffic for estimated total of six point nine billion hours in two thousand and fourteen this is obviously frustrating for many but it also means

a loss of money a lot of money according to the a s c e traffic delays cost the us one hundred sixty billion dollars in wasted time and fuel in two thousand and fourteen at the environmental impact of congestion and you can just imagine the true cost is much more the problem lies here. for years u.s. infrastructure including roads have been underfunded currently there's an estimated eight hundred thirty six billion backlog of highway and bridge capital needs this includes four hundred twenty billion of repairing existing highways under twenty three billion for bridge repair one hundred sixty seven billion for system expansion and one hundred twenty six billions for system enhancement such as safety and handsome it's operational improvements and environmental projects now if investments are made not only will roads become safer and less congested but according to the federal highway administration if proven to also translate into lower vehicle maintenance costs and higher fuel efficiency as well as reduced

emissions now this can be done with more funding from all levels of government some people are saying you know what we need more taxes to pay for this but there's also the theory that we can divert money from other places like for example foreign wars and start investing in american infrastructure and the american people in toronto i'm alex mileage r.c. . internet access is fast becoming a necessity as the world goes digital but as america's broadband up to snuff r.t. correspondent dan cohen takes us online to find out. twenty five megabytes per second or higher that's the speed the federal government says is needed to support modern internet use in the united states or what's known as high speed broadband but more than twenty four million americans lack access to the federally mandated

speed according to the center for public integrity more than half of them are in poor and rural areas where the median income is less than forty seven thousand dollars per year that includes twenty nine percent of farms and ranches throughout the country but the federal communication commission is repeal of new. neutrality in december twenty seventh team public broadband has been touted as a solution to ensure fair access to want is a member of the city council in seattle where she has a lead the push for public broadband it has to be concluded on one hundred percent that access to the internet having a cell phone having phone access having access to. the multitude of. necessity that. in many ways you know the web services are the first portal to access those services then you will see that you know the internet is is

not a luxury but access to the internet is not a luxury but a necessity in countries like finland switzerland and taiwan have already implemented public broadband but it's not necessary to travel overseas to find it here in the u.s. twenty nine states have proposed their own open internet regulation and five democratic governors have issued executive orders that bar the state from doing business with broadband companies that violate net neutrality the city of chattanooga tennessee created what they call the electric power board a municipal owned utility that provides internet speeds of a gigabyte per second in total more than one hundred thirty communities in twenty seven states have done the same chattanooga's move dealt a blow to comcast the local cable provider who speeds can't compete with the public option internet service providers launched lawsuits against chattanooga's public broadband service and when they lost the company's appeal the court decisions it's

not only cities that are turning away from private providers on june twentieth the consolidated cooperative in the town of delaware ohio announced plans to implement fiber optic services in michigan a republican led effort attempted to stop government funds from paying for broadband in the city of fort collins colorado. a group backed by private internet providers spent nine hundred thousand dollars to block public broadband service that effort failed as voters approved a bill that authorized the city to build a network the telecom industry has spent huge amounts fighting the movement for public broadband just in twenty eighteen they spent more than twenty three million dollars in lobbying efforts today there are twenty states where public broadband is road blocked or outlawed the efforts to block public broadband are likely to increase as larger markets like los angeles and seattle consider adopting it not only do these corporations have millions tens of millions billions of dollars

a day or disposal to fight and need to look at it attempts to make access you know available to everybody they also have politicians in their pockets they have political parties in their pockets they have now molded you to be is you know crawling all around slimy lobbies calling calling all around the city a city hall state legislatures in the u.s. congress and the white house reporting in washington d.c. dan cohen our t.v. . that's it for this time but we have lots more on tap for next time as part of our special look at the u.s. infrastructure deficit please join us you always catch boom bust on direct t.v. channel three twenty one dish network channel two eighty or streaming twenty four seven on pluto t.v. the free t.v. app channel one thirty two or as always hit us up at youtube dot com boom bust r.t. ok next time.

if you want to. look at it it's a severe. muscle to most. high heels if. you could feel it's gotten a little bit he. doesn't need to believe it's really high if you do it. all for school it's only about the walking on the other the couldn't. pull the one of the body while collins on the old. boy.

you'll look all. right we're all set to start in five yes the studio has a signal. he's not going to talk about no fly just me right after the mars explorers one new bit of their new. food a rocket. to see where people go. oh the last room welcome to sophie until i'm so three shevardnadze said today we've got lots to talk about in our program and our guest is move good luck to.

good call existence to something that. could put themselves on the lot to get accepted or rejected. so when you want to be president or injury or somehow want to be grips with. what's it like to be for us this is what the forecast three in the morning can't be good that. i'm interested always in the waters of my colleagues. question. when lawmakers manufacture consent to consume to the public will. when the right wing closest to protect themselves. with the flame of clear your own lives and neither will most of. the time we can all middle of the room signals. from the real news is

real. people criticize us or they question us and they want to know why we're not more book for nickel of russia and the real question is how come we're not tooting russia's horn more because they are been genius during this crisis but that would be i think a little bit you know over the top to simply point out all the good things that they're constantly doing so we just try to take a more balanced middle of the road approach that's you know the fact is that they're making all these other economies look stupid by comparison. for a man or sitting in a car when the fifth gets shot in the head. all four different versions of what. one of them is on the death row there's no way he could have done it there's no possible way because the list did

not shoot around a corner. donald trump threatens to remove the security clearance of several of the four main targets insufficient they were accused of politicizing and monetizing the information they had access to. a former trump advise they comes under fire office he announces a new foundation to reportedly from meant a riot when the revolution in europe has taken. a liberal philanthropist in georgia store also who's been left thank you it's. and we're still in southern england is divided over how a seventeenth century slave trader is remembered in this city. the old terms what the plot is going to be so you because you've got to put things into context of what we saw you know so i know you would guess this is mommy's.