[amiramir]

"China has rushed ahead in high-speed rail development, at the cost of human life[2] and corruption,[3] but the United States has no need to follow this example."

I'm not sure how well the US is doing on those 2 counts.

34,080 people died in the US as a result of motor vehicle accidents in 2012. This is a high number (compared to recent wars (a bit more on that later), terrorism or rail deaths).[1]

On the corruption side, it's more subtle and kleptocratic and oligarchic tinged with some regulatory capture. There is no road pricing or carbon pricing in the US so taxpayers subsidize drivers. The cost of gas/petrol is not allowed to rise and has led to a skewed foreign policy and "strategic" wars that are paid for by taxes. There are also instances such as the GM/Los Angeles transit story which have a certain ring of truth and corruption to them. [2]

In short the US policy around automobiles has a high cost in lives and corruption too, possibly far greater than anything in China.

[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_motor_vehicle_deaths_i... [2]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_streetcar_consp...