Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ing equal-quality, federally funded roads—truck itself into greater economic power. And
in our generation, Europe is investing money it could be spending on its military on its
infrastructure instead.
Berlin's train station is the biggest in Europe, with 1,800 trains a day arriving on 14 ma-
jor train lines, coming in at right angles on two different levels.
Exploring a continent with a level of affluence similar to the US's gives us a chance
to see firsthand the result of allocating limited resources with different priorities. People
everywhere hear the excuse “there's not enough money.” But there's plenty of money.
It's just that each society makes different choices according to its priorities: new stadium,
healthcare for all, faster trains, extravagant cathedral, subsidized education, tax cuts, next-
generation bomber, and so on.
So far I've focused on the economy of the European Union. But for the EU's founders,
money took a backseat to their primary motivation: peace. Even the biggest Euroskeptic
recognizes that, in weaving together the economies of former enemies like France and Ger-
many, everyone has become so interconnected that Europe will never again suffer devast-
