Von Hardesty, Smithsonian curator of aeronautical history, views reconnaissance images of Normandy Beach to describe the impact aerial photography on World War II military planning.
These dramatic photographs were taken on the eve of the Allied landings at Normandy on June 6, 1944. The eventual Allied assault on the beaches at Normandy would involve a vast armada of ships, airplanes, and soldiers—and the epic victory that followed set the stage for the liberation of Nazi-occupied Europe in World War II. Aerial reconnaissance of the German defenses at Normandy became a critical factor in Allied planning for the invasion. These reconnaissance photographs—selected from a sequence of images shot at low level—were taken on a sunny day in late May 1944, just days before the Allied landings.
What caught my attention was the fact that these photos offer a mirror on history. They were part of the rehearsal for an epic encounter between the Allies and Nazi Germany. In the narrow tactical sense, the photos expose the relentless effort of Allies to monitor enemy fortifications at Normandy at the eleventh hour. Military intelligence gathering had become a vital dimension for any major offensive operation. Knowing in real-time (or close to it) how the German defenders were deployed became an essential factor in assuring for the success of the planned Allied landings.
From the notations on the prints, the photos were taken from a Lockheed P–38F-5 fighter, a fast twin–engine, single seat reconnaissance aircraft used for taking both vertical and oblique angle photographs—often at extreme low altitudes. Typically, such an aircraft used two 6-inch K-17 or K-22 oblique angle cameras, which were mounted in the nose section.
Generally, when we think about air reconnaissance, we think of images that look down from great heights. But this sequence of photographs suggests the use of aircraft to obtain images from low level, in this case from about 150 to 200 feet above the ground. Such missions were high risk. But they were deemed necessary to gain vital data on enemy fortifications on the Normandy beaches.
The pictures focus on the beach and nearby cliffs, the locale for enemy fortifications. All German defenders are seemingly concealed from view. However, the photos capture one break in the cliffs, showing the areas stretching inland from the beaches. Allied photo interpreters were keen on learning where the enemy had placed mines and obstructions. The pylons—the things that look like tripods that you see sticking up on the beach—were topped with mines, set in place to be invisible to the invaders at high tide. You sense in the images the cat and mouse machinations underway in advance of the long-anticipated invasion.
Knowledge of the enemy’s positions and movements has long been a major element in war. The first aerial photographs were taken from balloons in the American Civil War. With the advent of air power in World War I, aerial reconnaissance took on a new dimension, becoming an essential tool of warfare and allowed for the deep penetration of enemy-held territory. The camera—once mounted in an airplane—offered the means to monitor the movement of opposing armies in a systematic fashion. By World War II, you had better cameras, better aircraft, and much more disciplined photography missions. It was always dangerous work. Reconnaissance aircraft were always targets for interception by enemy fighters and air defenses. If such roaming aircraft appeared too many times, this could offer a telltale sign an approaching offensive or military operation. Consequently, there was a great deal of stress on stealth, speed, and concealment.
Aerial reconnaissance photography may be considered both a technology and an art form, and it has evolved in sophistication in modern times. The P-38s used at Normandy would be replaced in later decades by U-2 and SR-71 high altitude reconnaissance aircraft. By the end of the 1950s, with the advent of the space age, satellite–based reconnaissance became commonplace. One of the first experiments in this latter-day technology came in the late 1950s and early 1960s with Project Corona, when canisters containing exposed film negatives shot in the upper atmosphere were literally dropped back to earth by parachutes and retrieved by airplanes. Today, there is no part of the globe that isn't routinely photographed; satellite reconnaissance enables you to see a digital view of the street you live on, taken from a 25–foot elevation. In peacetime, aerial photographs are used for map making, real estate development, and weather forecasting; they’re also useful to document and assess the impact of storms and disasters.
What struck me about these Normandy images is the special context or moment in history evident to the onlooker—we see the beaches on the cusp of a titanic struggle. Indeed these surviving images are frozen, but the context is dynamic and filled with portent. The outward serenity betrays the fact that this same terrain would soon be caught up in the fog of battle—an altered reality just hours away. Only a few high-ranking Allied commanders knew the exact beaches targeted for the landings. The German defenders feared the impending battle, but did not know the exact time or locale. Given this peculiar context, we understand why the Normandy photographs possess an intrinsic appeal and excitement. When you look at them, you sense how photography can serve as a mirror, in this case a hint of the future. What the camera captures, then and now, is an extraordinary moment—rare and never to be repeated. In fact, history hovers over these beaches as a coiled spring, ready to transform a serene stretch of beach into a crucible of battle.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
US Navy Producing Scaled-Down Rail Gun Naval Weapon
Back in March 2006, BAE Systems received a contract for “design and production of the 32 MJ Laboratory Launcher for the U.S. Navy.” Some hint of what they are talking about can be gleaned from the name. The project is an electro-magnetic rail gun that accelerates a projectile to incredibly high speeds without using explosives.
The attraction of such systems is no mystery – they promise to fire their ammunition 10 or more times farther than conventional naval gun shells, while sharply reducing both the required size of each shell and the amount of explosive material carried on board ship. Progress is being made, but there are still major technical challenges to overcome before a working rail gun becomes a serious naval option. This DID FOCUS article looks at the key technical challenges, the programs, and the history of key contracts and events. Recent additions include another R&D contract to General Atomics…
The attraction of such systems is no mystery – they promise to fire their ammunition 10 or more times farther than conventional naval gun shells, while sharply reducing both the required size of each shell and the amount of explosive material carried on board ship. Progress is being made, but there are still major technical challenges to overcome before a working rail gun becomes a serious naval option. This DID FOCUS article looks at the key technical challenges, the programs, and the history of key contracts and events. Recent additions include another R&D contract to General Atomics…
F-20 Tigershark Integrated Digital Avionics
The F-20A integrated avionics system provided air to air and air to ground target detection and weapons delivery for supersonic intercept, air superiority, combat air patrol, close air support, and interdiction missions----day or night and under adverse weather conditions.
The avionics design simplified pilot operations, reduced pilot workload, and rapidly provided data for successful combat missions. The design incorporated the newest USAF avionics standards. Primary avionics elements were integrated through a redundant MIL STD 1553B multiplex data bus and controlled by a MIL STD 1750A mission computer using MILSTD 1589 Jovial J 73 language. The computer contained 256,000 words of programmable memory and had a throughput of 1 million operations per second. The computer had a specified MTBF of 2400 hours. The F-20A was able to accept new MIL STD avionics and weapons with a minimum of modification and without additional wiring to the avionics.
The avionics design simplified pilot operations, reduced pilot workload, and rapidly provided data for successful combat missions. The design incorporated the newest USAF avionics standards. Primary avionics elements were integrated through a redundant MIL STD 1553B multiplex data bus and controlled by a MIL STD 1750A mission computer using MILSTD 1589 Jovial J 73 language. The computer contained 256,000 words of programmable memory and had a throughput of 1 million operations per second. The computer had a specified MTBF of 2400 hours. The F-20A was able to accept new MIL STD avionics and weapons with a minimum of modification and without additional wiring to the avionics.
JakilaTheHun
By Jake Huneycutt
The Upward Society Blog
Economist Nouriel Roubini recently advanced the proposition that higher oil prices, rising government debt, and a lack of job growth will throw us right back into recession once we finally start to escape from the current one. Roubini labeled this potential phenomenon a “double-dip recession.” In essence, it’s a giant “Catch-22” --- we can’t have continued prosperity without cheap oil and we can’t have cheap oil without a bum economy. This unfavorable scenario presents itself to us precisely because American policymakers over the past few decades have ignored our nation’s most pressing concern: the energy crisis.
Undoubtedly, we’re all aware of America’s massive reliance on foreign oil. Instinctively, we all realize this is most likely a detrimental thing. Yet, very few people have ever laid out much in the way of a comprehensive plan to deal with the crisis. There have been some attempts, however.
In 2009, oil magnate T. Boone Pickens unveiled his “Pickens Plan,” which called for the US to develop its wind power and natural gas capacity and increase the usage of more fuel efficient automobiles. It was a noble package and I do believe that American needs to increase usage of cleaner energy sources such as wind and natural gas, but we also need to address some of the underlying infrastructural problems with the American economy.
If we want true energy independence, we have to disentangle the American economy from foreign oil. There is no easy cure that will solve our problems over night. There is, however, a major way to reduce our reliance our dependency on oil while improving America’s infrastructure by increasing the availability of rail transportation and expanding public transit systems. What we truly need is an integrated National Rail Network.
The Eisenhower Interstate System: An American Success Story
Before touching upon a national transit network, however, we should examine one of America’s greatest success stories over the past century: the Eisenhower Interstate System. In a piece about lessening our dependence on oil, you might find it odd that I would bring up the Interstate Highway System. Yet, there’s an important reason to look at the system in order to understand our current dilemma.
The Eisenhower Interstate Highway System was one of the greatest public policy successes in American history and the largest public works project in history. It stands alongside the Roman aqueducts and the Great Wall of China in the pantheon of public works triumphs. It is precisely because of America’s well-developed road system that Americans have become so mobile. The system has also been one of the major factors driving America’s commercial prowess over the past five decades.
The Interstate Highway System was originally conceived as a defense network. President Eisenhower remembered travelling over America’s disjointed and confusing road network as a young man and became a great admirer of the German Autobahn. He wanted the United States to have a similar functioning road system to the Germans. In the five decades since Eisenhower’s presidency, America has never been invaded by a foreign power, but the Interstate Highway System has become a vital link in promoting commerce.
The great beauty of the American road network is that if you live in New York, you can hop on the Interstate and be in Virginia within a number of hours. All you have to do is own a car and gas up. Gassing up, as it turns out, was an important foundation behind the system. Instead of funding the Interstate Highway System through general income tax revenues or through a series of tolls, policymakers implemented a gasoline tax that would theoretically pay for the system. While the link was technically indirect, the heaviest users would, for the most part, pay the most while the lightest users would pay the least.
Why the Road System Works
The secret behind the success of the Eisenhower Interstate Highway System and indeed, the entire American road system, is that it has become a highly integrated network that can be used to travel nearly anywhere in the nation without incurring heavy expense.
This might seem like common sense, but the reasons why the road networks work are often taken for granted. Envision an alternate America where instead of the highly integrated, mostly toll-free road network we have, we instead had to rely on a disjointed, confusing, and not-always-connected series of roads.
Imagine if on a particular trip, you had to (1) get on a free local highway for 30 miles, (2) transfer to a dirt road for 20 miles, (3) get onto a out-of-the-way toll road for 20 miles, (4) take another out-of-way free highway for another 25 miles, (5) get on a local road for about 10 miles, (6) take a toll highway for 10 miles, (7) travel on another dirt road for 10 miles, (8) etc, (9) etc, (10) etc.
The reason why Americans travel the Interstate system in droves is because the ease, connectivity, and inexpensive nature of the system.
If Americans had to endure the scenario presented above in order to get to point A to point B, many Americans might not even bother owning a car. Yet, the alternate reality I presented was more typical of the early American road network. The only reason the automobile has become a way of life in America is because of policymakers’ dedication to expanding, upgrading, and integrating the road network.
A Distortive Funding System
Rather than the energy crisis being a result of the failure of the American road network, in a sense, it is a product of the system being too successful. As a result, policymakers have neglected other forms of transportation in favor of constantly expanding the road network. However, there are several problems with this approach:
(1) The system has become so “overdeveloped” that expansion is more of a hindrance than a benefit
(2) The functioning of the road network is completely dependent upon the availability of cheap oil
(3) The system’s original financing design has been undermined.
Issue #1 is debatable, but it’s difficult to make a case contrary to #2 and #3. While the Interstate Highway System was originally designed to be fully supported by gasoline taxes and a few tolls, in reality, the system has drifted into a different state as policymakers have refused to increase gasoline taxes to match highway expenditures.
At this point in time, roughly 70% of the funding for the highway system comes from gas ......, while the remaining 30% comes from public debt, property taxes, sales taxes, and general income taxes. On the Federal level, about 93% of the funding comes from gasoline taxes, but on the state level, things are more skewed, as only 60% of the funding comes from gas taxes. The reason I bring these statistics up is to make a point: the road network that Americans use so frequently is now subsidized heavily via general taxes.
This is an important stat because it displays that the system might very well be distortive, forcing users to favor driving, when they’d much prefer to use alternate means of transportation. Indeed, public transit usage hit a 5-decade high last year as the market (i.e. the collection of American consumers) seems to be screaming out “WE WANT MORE MASS TRANSIT!” Meanwhile, despite record ridership, public transit agencies across the country are being forced to cut routes. The Washington Metro system is one of the best examples, being forced to make nearly $170 million in cuts.
Rail, Public Transit, and the Missed Opportunity
While statistics show rapidly increasing usage of public transit and road transportation systems becoming increasingly congested, it might make sense that policymakers would consider shifting funding towards public transit and away from road building. However, not only has this not occurred, it seems to be almost the complete reverse.
Earlier this year, President Obama and the Congressional Democrats led the charge to pass a $788 billion stimulus package. For months, this package had been premised on the idea that it would both (a) give a boost to the American economy and (b) achieve much needed infrastructure development. Unfortunately, as it turned out, only about 17% of the package was truly dedicated to infrastructure building activities. A sizable chunk of the infrastructure portion went to more highway building activities. A paltry $14.9 billion went to public transit. While this is better than nothing, we can do a lot better.
Ironically, the DC Metro system, which utilizes both rail and bus transportation, is one of the most severely underfunded systems in the nation and has been forced to make deep cuts at a time when there is record ridership. The system barely scraps by every year as lawmakers never dedicate much resources to it, expecting it to “break even” while competing on grossly unequal terms with the auto system. Yet, very little has been done by the Feds or the Maryland or Virginia state governments to improve the system.
Congress could have thrown a lot money at various public transit projects around the nation in the stimulus package and I personally believe that this would have been a much more productive infrastructure investment than the one we received; I’d rather see more comprehensive reform in our transportation system. Just like Eisenhower saw the need for the Interstate Highway system, it’s time for policymakers to realize the need for a National Rail Network
The Benefits of a National Rail Network
Transportation is one of only a handful of areas that the public sector is better suited to handle than the private sector. Transportation systems need centralized planning and design to function properly and they also need gobs and gobs of land to work. It is unlikely that a private actor will ever have the capability of building an efficient transportation system, unfortunately.
All the same, a nation’s transportation system is its livelihood. Without such a system, commerce would be primitive and practically non-existent.
Much of America’s prosperity of the past century would not be possible without our strong transportation systems, but we need to prepare for the future. Oil is becoming increasing expensive to extract. This trend is not going to reverse any time soon, especially as China and India continue their marches towards becoming world powers.
What happens to our current system when gas creeps over $5 per gallon permanently? It will still be there, of course, but it will increase the costs of everything we do and everything we buy. Moreover, the system has become so overburdened at this point, that it’s safe to say that more and more opportunity costs are being incurred each year due to lost time. Our goal should be to minimize costs.
The Eisenhower Interstate System has been a great boon to America, but a National Rail Network would also be a boon to commerce. It would increase the availability of transportation to all Americans. It would increase economic efficiency by taking more cars off the roads. It would also save many families considerable money, as they would need fewer automobiles to sustain their livelihood. Certainly, the fact that rail transportation is much more environmentally cleaner is a positive, as well, but from a sheer economic perspective, it makes sense. What’s more --- the entire system can be funded without costing the American taxpayer all that much if it’s implemented properly.
A Funding Model for a National Rail Network
The initial idea behind the Eisenhower Interstate System is that it would be self-sustaining/self-funding via the gasoline tax. Unfortunately, that assumption has been undermined as politicians have refused to increase the taxes to match the level of road and highway spending. This has created an issue where our road system is substantially subsidized by general taxes.
One benefit that the National Rail Network (NRN) might have over the highway system is that it can be run more like a business. Indeed, for anyone who frequently rides one of the nation’s many public transit systems that should be obvious. Unlike the highway system where customers pay their “dues” in an indirect fashion (via gasoline taxes), public transportation largely operates via user fees. In this sense, public transit system are much more accountable and sustainable systems because there are managers and executives who have to decide what fees are necessary to fund their operations.
Just like the Eisenhower Interstate System, a National Rail Network could be self-funded via usage fees. Unlike the Interstate System, there shouldn’t be quite as large issues with the “self-funding” requirement being significantly undermined. For this very reason, a National Rail Network is not only achievable, but economically feasible. In the short-run, it will require up-front costs. In the long-run, a properly-designed NRN should not significantly contribute to national or state debt. In fact, by creating greater economic efficiencies, it might bring a greater return on capital since greater wealth will raise tax revenues.
The Formulation of a National Rail Network
The Eisenhower Interstate System, in a sense, didn’t originate in the 1950’s. It originated much sooner, as road and highway systems were built across America in the decades preceding the Eisenhower Administration. Eisenhower took the pieces already in place, built some more pieces, and integrated everything into one network. Once the network was in place, Federal and state legislators became dedicated to it and viewed it as a vital link for the promotion of commerce.
Here in America, we already have many public transit systems, particularly in the larger cities. The biggest hurdle to creating a National Rail Network is the need to build a high-speed rail network across the United States. Just as the Interstate System was not built overnight, this high-speed rail system would probably have to be slowly pieced together and integrated with existing public transit systems.
To a limited extent, we have an integrated rail system, but it does not function very well. The design of it is flawed, the technology is poor, the resources dedicated to it are meager, and Amtrak simply does not work very well as it is currently modeled. At the same time, Amtrak is experiencing record ridership even in spite of a terribly flawed model which exposes the need for greater passenger rail in the United States.
The primary elements that are needed for a true, well-functioning National Rail Network are:
(1) High-speed rail for inter-city travel
High-speed rail is absolutely vital to making a National Rail Network a reality. Without it, our rail system is effectively a series of isolated entities. A national high-speed rail network would not only create a new transportation for Americans, but it would also connect our disjointed public transit systems throughout the nation into one grand network, comparable to the Interstate Highway System. Our rail system would immediately become more competitive with the auto system and air travel and the labor costs of operating the trains would decline on a per mile basis.
(2) An Integrated design
In order to achieve this goal of a National Rail Network that serves as a viable transportation option, integration is absolutely vital! The reason many people preferred passenger rail to automobile transportation in the early part of the 20th Century was precisely because the road and highway infrastructure was so thoroughly disjointed, as to make its usefulness limited.
Automobile travel expanded in the 1920’s, 30’s, and 40’s, but it was only after Eisenhower integrated the system in the 1950’s that automobile transportation became the dominant form of transportation in the United States for both short trips and long trips. Passenger rail will only succeed when it becomes similarly integrated and convenient for the American consumer.
(3) Expanded public transportation in major metropolitan areas
Outside of New York City, the public transportation infrastructure in most major American metropolitan areas is relatively bare bones. This is particularly true with rail transportation. Even the Metro system, the public transit network in the nation’s capital, does poor job of providing coverage for the metropolitan area it services. I hope to explore this topic further in future articles.
(4) A dedicated system
Part of the problem with public transit in America is that the systems were put together almost as an afterthought. Political support has been weak and the systems function in a half-ass way. On the other hand, the highway system is a very dedicated system.
We need to become dedicated to developing (or perhaps I should say “re-developing”) public transit systems in America. Amtrak, as it is currently modeled has numerous flaws which I hope to explore more in-depth in future articles. For this article, however, I will mention the two most notable flaws are the lack of high-speed rail and the fact that Amtrak trains are required to share the same rail lines as freight trains. Both of these flaws make Amtrak a much slower transportation option than it should be and drive up costs (particularly labor-related costs, which is one of the major reasons why air travel is only slightly more expensive than Amtrak.
Until we begin to view passenger rail as a primary form of transportation, with resources dedicated exclusively to it, the system will suffer. It’s absolutely paramount that if we want a NRN, we build a rail system that is exclusively dedicated to that purpose, rather than throwing passenger rail on the exact same lines as freight trains.
(5) Reasonable pricing
Finally, the last hurdle comes in the form of “reasonable pricing.” Rail transit suffers from the fact that pricing on many systems is too high. Alternatively, one could argue that rail transit suffers because the pricing on competing systems is too low; that is to say, state subsidies of the highway/road system and air travel cause those forms of transportation to appear less expensive than they truly are to American taxpayers. Hence, it might be time to reformulate our transportation funding model and find a way to create a system more in tune with market realities. In such a system, the price of rail transit would be more reasonable than in the current system.
The National Rail Network and Staying Competitive
The Upward Society Blog
Economist Nouriel Roubini recently advanced the proposition that higher oil prices, rising government debt, and a lack of job growth will throw us right back into recession once we finally start to escape from the current one. Roubini labeled this potential phenomenon a “double-dip recession.” In essence, it’s a giant “Catch-22” --- we can’t have continued prosperity without cheap oil and we can’t have cheap oil without a bum economy. This unfavorable scenario presents itself to us precisely because American policymakers over the past few decades have ignored our nation’s most pressing concern: the energy crisis.
Undoubtedly, we’re all aware of America’s massive reliance on foreign oil. Instinctively, we all realize this is most likely a detrimental thing. Yet, very few people have ever laid out much in the way of a comprehensive plan to deal with the crisis. There have been some attempts, however.
In 2009, oil magnate T. Boone Pickens unveiled his “Pickens Plan,” which called for the US to develop its wind power and natural gas capacity and increase the usage of more fuel efficient automobiles. It was a noble package and I do believe that American needs to increase usage of cleaner energy sources such as wind and natural gas, but we also need to address some of the underlying infrastructural problems with the American economy.
If we want true energy independence, we have to disentangle the American economy from foreign oil. There is no easy cure that will solve our problems over night. There is, however, a major way to reduce our reliance our dependency on oil while improving America’s infrastructure by increasing the availability of rail transportation and expanding public transit systems. What we truly need is an integrated National Rail Network.
The Eisenhower Interstate System: An American Success Story
Before touching upon a national transit network, however, we should examine one of America’s greatest success stories over the past century: the Eisenhower Interstate System. In a piece about lessening our dependence on oil, you might find it odd that I would bring up the Interstate Highway System. Yet, there’s an important reason to look at the system in order to understand our current dilemma.
The Eisenhower Interstate Highway System was one of the greatest public policy successes in American history and the largest public works project in history. It stands alongside the Roman aqueducts and the Great Wall of China in the pantheon of public works triumphs. It is precisely because of America’s well-developed road system that Americans have become so mobile. The system has also been one of the major factors driving America’s commercial prowess over the past five decades.
The Interstate Highway System was originally conceived as a defense network. President Eisenhower remembered travelling over America’s disjointed and confusing road network as a young man and became a great admirer of the German Autobahn. He wanted the United States to have a similar functioning road system to the Germans. In the five decades since Eisenhower’s presidency, America has never been invaded by a foreign power, but the Interstate Highway System has become a vital link in promoting commerce.
The great beauty of the American road network is that if you live in New York, you can hop on the Interstate and be in Virginia within a number of hours. All you have to do is own a car and gas up. Gassing up, as it turns out, was an important foundation behind the system. Instead of funding the Interstate Highway System through general income tax revenues or through a series of tolls, policymakers implemented a gasoline tax that would theoretically pay for the system. While the link was technically indirect, the heaviest users would, for the most part, pay the most while the lightest users would pay the least.
Why the Road System Works
The secret behind the success of the Eisenhower Interstate Highway System and indeed, the entire American road system, is that it has become a highly integrated network that can be used to travel nearly anywhere in the nation without incurring heavy expense.
This might seem like common sense, but the reasons why the road networks work are often taken for granted. Envision an alternate America where instead of the highly integrated, mostly toll-free road network we have, we instead had to rely on a disjointed, confusing, and not-always-connected series of roads.
Imagine if on a particular trip, you had to (1) get on a free local highway for 30 miles, (2) transfer to a dirt road for 20 miles, (3) get onto a out-of-the-way toll road for 20 miles, (4) take another out-of-way free highway for another 25 miles, (5) get on a local road for about 10 miles, (6) take a toll highway for 10 miles, (7) travel on another dirt road for 10 miles, (8) etc, (9) etc, (10) etc.
The reason why Americans travel the Interstate system in droves is because the ease, connectivity, and inexpensive nature of the system.
If Americans had to endure the scenario presented above in order to get to point A to point B, many Americans might not even bother owning a car. Yet, the alternate reality I presented was more typical of the early American road network. The only reason the automobile has become a way of life in America is because of policymakers’ dedication to expanding, upgrading, and integrating the road network.
A Distortive Funding System
Rather than the energy crisis being a result of the failure of the American road network, in a sense, it is a product of the system being too successful. As a result, policymakers have neglected other forms of transportation in favor of constantly expanding the road network. However, there are several problems with this approach:
(1) The system has become so “overdeveloped” that expansion is more of a hindrance than a benefit
(2) The functioning of the road network is completely dependent upon the availability of cheap oil
(3) The system’s original financing design has been undermined.
Issue #1 is debatable, but it’s difficult to make a case contrary to #2 and #3. While the Interstate Highway System was originally designed to be fully supported by gasoline taxes and a few tolls, in reality, the system has drifted into a different state as policymakers have refused to increase gasoline taxes to match highway expenditures.
At this point in time, roughly 70% of the funding for the highway system comes from gas ......, while the remaining 30% comes from public debt, property taxes, sales taxes, and general income taxes. On the Federal level, about 93% of the funding comes from gasoline taxes, but on the state level, things are more skewed, as only 60% of the funding comes from gas taxes. The reason I bring these statistics up is to make a point: the road network that Americans use so frequently is now subsidized heavily via general taxes.
This is an important stat because it displays that the system might very well be distortive, forcing users to favor driving, when they’d much prefer to use alternate means of transportation. Indeed, public transit usage hit a 5-decade high last year as the market (i.e. the collection of American consumers) seems to be screaming out “WE WANT MORE MASS TRANSIT!” Meanwhile, despite record ridership, public transit agencies across the country are being forced to cut routes. The Washington Metro system is one of the best examples, being forced to make nearly $170 million in cuts.
Rail, Public Transit, and the Missed Opportunity
While statistics show rapidly increasing usage of public transit and road transportation systems becoming increasingly congested, it might make sense that policymakers would consider shifting funding towards public transit and away from road building. However, not only has this not occurred, it seems to be almost the complete reverse.
Earlier this year, President Obama and the Congressional Democrats led the charge to pass a $788 billion stimulus package. For months, this package had been premised on the idea that it would both (a) give a boost to the American economy and (b) achieve much needed infrastructure development. Unfortunately, as it turned out, only about 17% of the package was truly dedicated to infrastructure building activities. A sizable chunk of the infrastructure portion went to more highway building activities. A paltry $14.9 billion went to public transit. While this is better than nothing, we can do a lot better.
Ironically, the DC Metro system, which utilizes both rail and bus transportation, is one of the most severely underfunded systems in the nation and has been forced to make deep cuts at a time when there is record ridership. The system barely scraps by every year as lawmakers never dedicate much resources to it, expecting it to “break even” while competing on grossly unequal terms with the auto system. Yet, very little has been done by the Feds or the Maryland or Virginia state governments to improve the system.
Congress could have thrown a lot money at various public transit projects around the nation in the stimulus package and I personally believe that this would have been a much more productive infrastructure investment than the one we received; I’d rather see more comprehensive reform in our transportation system. Just like Eisenhower saw the need for the Interstate Highway system, it’s time for policymakers to realize the need for a National Rail Network
The Benefits of a National Rail Network
Transportation is one of only a handful of areas that the public sector is better suited to handle than the private sector. Transportation systems need centralized planning and design to function properly and they also need gobs and gobs of land to work. It is unlikely that a private actor will ever have the capability of building an efficient transportation system, unfortunately.
All the same, a nation’s transportation system is its livelihood. Without such a system, commerce would be primitive and practically non-existent.
Much of America’s prosperity of the past century would not be possible without our strong transportation systems, but we need to prepare for the future. Oil is becoming increasing expensive to extract. This trend is not going to reverse any time soon, especially as China and India continue their marches towards becoming world powers.
What happens to our current system when gas creeps over $5 per gallon permanently? It will still be there, of course, but it will increase the costs of everything we do and everything we buy. Moreover, the system has become so overburdened at this point, that it’s safe to say that more and more opportunity costs are being incurred each year due to lost time. Our goal should be to minimize costs.
The Eisenhower Interstate System has been a great boon to America, but a National Rail Network would also be a boon to commerce. It would increase the availability of transportation to all Americans. It would increase economic efficiency by taking more cars off the roads. It would also save many families considerable money, as they would need fewer automobiles to sustain their livelihood. Certainly, the fact that rail transportation is much more environmentally cleaner is a positive, as well, but from a sheer economic perspective, it makes sense. What’s more --- the entire system can be funded without costing the American taxpayer all that much if it’s implemented properly.
A Funding Model for a National Rail Network
The initial idea behind the Eisenhower Interstate System is that it would be self-sustaining/self-funding via the gasoline tax. Unfortunately, that assumption has been undermined as politicians have refused to increase the taxes to match the level of road and highway spending. This has created an issue where our road system is substantially subsidized by general taxes.
One benefit that the National Rail Network (NRN) might have over the highway system is that it can be run more like a business. Indeed, for anyone who frequently rides one of the nation’s many public transit systems that should be obvious. Unlike the highway system where customers pay their “dues” in an indirect fashion (via gasoline taxes), public transportation largely operates via user fees. In this sense, public transit system are much more accountable and sustainable systems because there are managers and executives who have to decide what fees are necessary to fund their operations.
Just like the Eisenhower Interstate System, a National Rail Network could be self-funded via usage fees. Unlike the Interstate System, there shouldn’t be quite as large issues with the “self-funding” requirement being significantly undermined. For this very reason, a National Rail Network is not only achievable, but economically feasible. In the short-run, it will require up-front costs. In the long-run, a properly-designed NRN should not significantly contribute to national or state debt. In fact, by creating greater economic efficiencies, it might bring a greater return on capital since greater wealth will raise tax revenues.
The Formulation of a National Rail Network
The Eisenhower Interstate System, in a sense, didn’t originate in the 1950’s. It originated much sooner, as road and highway systems were built across America in the decades preceding the Eisenhower Administration. Eisenhower took the pieces already in place, built some more pieces, and integrated everything into one network. Once the network was in place, Federal and state legislators became dedicated to it and viewed it as a vital link for the promotion of commerce.
Here in America, we already have many public transit systems, particularly in the larger cities. The biggest hurdle to creating a National Rail Network is the need to build a high-speed rail network across the United States. Just as the Interstate System was not built overnight, this high-speed rail system would probably have to be slowly pieced together and integrated with existing public transit systems.
To a limited extent, we have an integrated rail system, but it does not function very well. The design of it is flawed, the technology is poor, the resources dedicated to it are meager, and Amtrak simply does not work very well as it is currently modeled. At the same time, Amtrak is experiencing record ridership even in spite of a terribly flawed model which exposes the need for greater passenger rail in the United States.
The primary elements that are needed for a true, well-functioning National Rail Network are:
(1) High-speed rail for inter-city travel
High-speed rail is absolutely vital to making a National Rail Network a reality. Without it, our rail system is effectively a series of isolated entities. A national high-speed rail network would not only create a new transportation for Americans, but it would also connect our disjointed public transit systems throughout the nation into one grand network, comparable to the Interstate Highway System. Our rail system would immediately become more competitive with the auto system and air travel and the labor costs of operating the trains would decline on a per mile basis.
(2) An Integrated design
In order to achieve this goal of a National Rail Network that serves as a viable transportation option, integration is absolutely vital! The reason many people preferred passenger rail to automobile transportation in the early part of the 20th Century was precisely because the road and highway infrastructure was so thoroughly disjointed, as to make its usefulness limited.
Automobile travel expanded in the 1920’s, 30’s, and 40’s, but it was only after Eisenhower integrated the system in the 1950’s that automobile transportation became the dominant form of transportation in the United States for both short trips and long trips. Passenger rail will only succeed when it becomes similarly integrated and convenient for the American consumer.
(3) Expanded public transportation in major metropolitan areas
Outside of New York City, the public transportation infrastructure in most major American metropolitan areas is relatively bare bones. This is particularly true with rail transportation. Even the Metro system, the public transit network in the nation’s capital, does poor job of providing coverage for the metropolitan area it services. I hope to explore this topic further in future articles.
(4) A dedicated system
Part of the problem with public transit in America is that the systems were put together almost as an afterthought. Political support has been weak and the systems function in a half-ass way. On the other hand, the highway system is a very dedicated system.
We need to become dedicated to developing (or perhaps I should say “re-developing”) public transit systems in America. Amtrak, as it is currently modeled has numerous flaws which I hope to explore more in-depth in future articles. For this article, however, I will mention the two most notable flaws are the lack of high-speed rail and the fact that Amtrak trains are required to share the same rail lines as freight trains. Both of these flaws make Amtrak a much slower transportation option than it should be and drive up costs (particularly labor-related costs, which is one of the major reasons why air travel is only slightly more expensive than Amtrak.
Until we begin to view passenger rail as a primary form of transportation, with resources dedicated exclusively to it, the system will suffer. It’s absolutely paramount that if we want a NRN, we build a rail system that is exclusively dedicated to that purpose, rather than throwing passenger rail on the exact same lines as freight trains.
(5) Reasonable pricing
Finally, the last hurdle comes in the form of “reasonable pricing.” Rail transit suffers from the fact that pricing on many systems is too high. Alternatively, one could argue that rail transit suffers because the pricing on competing systems is too low; that is to say, state subsidies of the highway/road system and air travel cause those forms of transportation to appear less expensive than they truly are to American taxpayers. Hence, it might be time to reformulate our transportation funding model and find a way to create a system more in tune with market realities. In such a system, the price of rail transit would be more reasonable than in the current system.
The National Rail Network and Staying Competitive
The Upward Society Blog
By Jake Huneycutt
The Upward Society Blog
Economist Nouriel Roubini recently advanced the proposition that higher oil prices, rising government debt, and a lack of job growth will throw us right back into recession once we finally start to escape from the current one. Roubini labeled this potential phenomenon a “double-dip recession.” In essence, it’s a giant “Catch-22” --- we can’t have continued prosperity without cheap oil and we can’t have cheap oil without a bum economy. This unfavorable scenario presents itself to us precisely because American policymakers over the past few decades have ignored our nation’s most pressing concern: the energy crisis.
Undoubtedly, we’re all aware of America’s massive reliance on foreign oil. Instinctively, we all realize this is most likely a detrimental thing. Yet, very few people have ever laid out much in the way of a comprehensive plan to deal with the crisis. There have been some attempts, however.
In 2009, oil magnate T. Boone Pickens unveiled his “Pickens Plan,” which called for the US to develop its wind power and natural gas capacity and increase the usage of more fuel efficient automobiles. It was a noble package and I do believe that American needs to increase usage of cleaner energy sources such as wind and natural gas, but we also need to address some of the underlying infrastructural problems with the American economy.
If we want true energy independence, we have to disentangle the American economy from foreign oil. There is no easy cure that will solve our problems over night. There is, however, a major way to reduce our reliance our dependency on oil while improving America’s infrastructure by increasing the availability of rail transportation and expanding public transit systems. What we truly need is an integrated National Rail Network.
The Upward Society Blog
Economist Nouriel Roubini recently advanced the proposition that higher oil prices, rising government debt, and a lack of job growth will throw us right back into recession once we finally start to escape from the current one. Roubini labeled this potential phenomenon a “double-dip recession.” In essence, it’s a giant “Catch-22” --- we can’t have continued prosperity without cheap oil and we can’t have cheap oil without a bum economy. This unfavorable scenario presents itself to us precisely because American policymakers over the past few decades have ignored our nation’s most pressing concern: the energy crisis.
Undoubtedly, we’re all aware of America’s massive reliance on foreign oil. Instinctively, we all realize this is most likely a detrimental thing. Yet, very few people have ever laid out much in the way of a comprehensive plan to deal with the crisis. There have been some attempts, however.
In 2009, oil magnate T. Boone Pickens unveiled his “Pickens Plan,” which called for the US to develop its wind power and natural gas capacity and increase the usage of more fuel efficient automobiles. It was a noble package and I do believe that American needs to increase usage of cleaner energy sources such as wind and natural gas, but we also need to address some of the underlying infrastructural problems with the American economy.
If we want true energy independence, we have to disentangle the American economy from foreign oil. There is no easy cure that will solve our problems over night. There is, however, a major way to reduce our reliance our dependency on oil while improving America’s infrastructure by increasing the availability of rail transportation and expanding public transit systems. What we truly need is an integrated National Rail Network.
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