Not totally thrilled by it but doesn't sound that bad.

Are we ever going to get out of this Ronald Reaganesque pit where everyone agrees that taxes are automatically evil and the free market is the solution to everything? (etc)

Not if we keep electing old-school moderate Republicans disguised as Democrats.

1. Republicans bought control of the media
2. Not in your lifetime
3. Because you're a peon and corporations are what the Government exists to service and protect
4. Yes but too bad
5. Yes but America loves bad ideas

I am very suspicious of "public/private partnerships."

But it might be OK. Devil is in the details. Here is from White House fact sheet as an example:

"The Eagle project is using a “design-build-finance-operate-maintain” contract under a 34-year concession. Denver will retain ownership of the assets, set fares and fare policies, and keep all project revenues. Denver will make payments to the private investor and operator (“concessionaire”) based on performance metrics."

@2 is correct.

President Obama is our best Republican President ever.

His own party has sadly become racist, however, so we call him a Moderate Democrat (right of center in actual practice)

Seattle's water treatment plants were built and are operated by private businesses. That process has saved ratepayers tens of millions of dollars. Every project is different.

@ 2 and @ 5

Obama is a left of center moderate democrat there is nothing republican about him. Now one could say liberal are actually green party members who are Democrats because terrified of the GOP.

This doesn't make sense for any business. I say that as a radical. Businesses should not be charitably responsible for public infrastructure when a better business option is simply to not invest and hope your competitor does, allowing you to reap the rewards at no cost. Public infrastructure, or really anything that the entire public benefits from either directly or indirectly, should not be left to the "kindness" of the free market. It's not going to get done well and, in fact, businesses themselves will suffer so in a way it's very anti-business to have such an expectation instead of forcing them all to participate in a way that's fair among other businesses.

Why, 50 years into the war on poverty, and a half-decade into Obama, would you still be so fucking naive to think government is capable of doing anything effectively, consistently or efficiently? Seriously, are you all that fucking naive?

There's always great yuck-yucks on Slog about people that have some religious faith. But that's pretty rich, from people still asking government to do things – when there's no tangible proof that these accomplishments exist.

Fools.

@9, check out WWII and the Marshall Plan

As soon as everyone realizes there's no difference between a Republican and a Democrat? God, Guns and Gays is nothing more than a distraction. Keep morning the SCOTUS ruling, in the meantime 10 other laws were passed that keeps the power where they want it.

@9 social security that is still fully solvent for another ~30 years despite your side's repeated attempts at sabotaging it say "hello"

Shell will be adding Hydrogen pumps to its service stations to fuel Hyundai's Blue Drive cars.

That's all the infrastructure I need.

@6
WTF?

@13: Enjoy your dirt roads, well water, and no hydrogen whatsoever.

We can only have nice public things when our feudal overlords - the 1% Economic Aristocracy - can operate them as a private concession. The only purpose of "government" is to grant them those concessions to levy taxes on the public in the form of monopolistic charters.

In fairness, there are times when this is legitimate - the railroads would never have happened because the government of the 1850s & 1860s wasn't capable of something that size. However, the railroads and the many "public-private" toll roads that exist today are a demonstration proof that the private sector is not either more efficient or less expensive - it is only more profitable for the owners.

I suppose for the owner class, this is more efficient government: they pay lower taxes and make higher profits - but it's just cost shifting in a regressive fashion onto the 99% - they're basically revenue-farming us.

Modern day noblesse oblige for us modern day serfs.