What can Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Tell Us About Infrastructure Decay

[Johnny Au]

Watch here: http://www.clickhole.com/video/mario-kart-8-deluxe-sobering-commentary-perils-ame-5971

Yes, I know that it is a clickbait title.

This satirical video essentially states that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is a reflection of the lack of infrastructure spending in the United States, leading to potholes and various other hazards, albeit in a fun way.

 

[44 North]

Love the part about Moo Moo Meadows: "the roads are so neglected they've essentially been reclaimed by nature". Not a big game guy, but MK8 Deluxe is probably 95% the reason I'll buy a Switch.

 

[Johnny Au]

Mario Kart 8 (both original and deluxe) also has official Mercedes-Benz vehicles:

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has a course called Super Bell Subway:

Yes, I know that the video is of the Mario Kart 8 DLC, but it's also included in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe at the get-go.

Thus, one can drive a Mercedes-Benz in a live subway system. I didn't mention anything about Mercedes-Benz cars on clouds or in space or in a fantasy land yet.

Don't let Brad Ross know this. He would be ticked off from Mario Kart 8 fans driving their Mercedes-Benz to park at Lower Bay station.

This scenario could happen more likely

 

[aquateam]

Watch here: http://www.clickhole.com/video/mario-kart-8-deluxe-sobering-commentary-perils-ame-5971

Yes, I know that it is a clickbait title.

This satirical video essentially states that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is a reflection of the lack of infrastructure spending in the United States, leading to potholes and various other hazards, albeit in a fun way.

The US spends around twice the OECD average on infrastructure. The problem isn't the amount of spending, the problem is the type of spending, which is disproportionately weighted towards new construction, even in areas with stagnant population and decreasing transportation demand. All the spending on new lane-kilometers also further increases the amount of infrastructure to maintain, further worsening the future maintenance burden.

The fact that the US is so suburban and sprawling (a consequence of all that spending on new roads) also means that there is more linear infrastructure per person, which means more infrastructure to maintain.

However, I would take any report on the status of the road and bridge infrastructure with a grain of salt, because the reports are normally generated by lobbies with a vested interest in trillions of dollars of additional spending in their domain (e.g. the American Society of Civil Engineers).