Posted on 09/23/2011 5:21:33 PM PDT by Kaslin
Boondoggles: How can we tell if Congress is serious about reining in spending? A clear-cut, permanent defunding of high-speed rail would be one sign. But the pipe dream won't quite die.
Sometime soon — or so we'd like to think — the fast-train fad will fizzle out, the victim of fiscal sanity and critical thinking.
Just this week, a Senate Appropriations subcommittee controlled by Democrats actually voted to give high-speed rail nothing at all in the new fiscal year.
That got our hopes up. Then the full Appropriations Committee mixed the message by approving $100 million for the program, which is a far cry from the $8 billion sought by President Obama.
That pittance was a symbolic victory for the rail fans. It was a rebuke to the Republican-controlled House, which is trying to kill Obama's high-speed rail scheme once and for all. For those who think that sleek trains will somehow revolutionize transportation in America, it keeps the dream alive.
It also continues to dangle the temptation of federal funds — if not in 2012, maybe later — in front of states that should not be taking the bait. California, especially, would spare itself enormous future pain if it were to ditch its ambitious high-speed rail plan now, before starting to build lines that almost no one will use.
A clear sign from the feds that no further money is coming for that purpose, now or ever, would make the state's decision easy. Voters have authorized $9 billion in bonds to build the system, but these don't come close to meeting construction costs, which the state's non-partisan Legislative Analyst office has pegged at $67 billion for just the first phase, from Orange County through Los Angeles to San Francisco.
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high-speed rail is a misnomer. Most of the proposals aren’t must faster then a car on a freeway.
It doesn't matter if ANYBODY rides them.
That's not their purpose.
Their purpose is to provide billions of federal dollars to Metropolitan Transportation Districts, which are mandated to be run by Eric Holder's people, who are mandated to stuff their pockets with as many federal dollars as they can hold.
Reparations!
We have had for 50 years the technology to launch hundreds of people at a time to 35,000 ft at 600 mph safely, and we are still subsidizing a nineteenth century piece of transportation technology. As for daily commuting, people can just drive at off peak traffic hours, or carpool.
Mo’ Money...Mo’ Money....Mo’ Money!!!
We live in middle TN. We like to vacation in Florida. If there were high speed rail from here to there AND it was cheaper than air travel AND there were no TSA shake downs, I would gladly use it.
I won’t be riding that Piece O’ Crap.
going by car is faster
It won’t be completed in my lifetime and I am young.
Gold Star passengers will ride for free.
Where's WillieG? He'll ride.
Or buses. Use same infrastructure as cars, far more route flexibility than trains.
Sen. Dick Turban (D-Madiganistan) proposed high speed trains from New Fallujah to Rahmabad, and from Rahmabad to St. Louis. In the case of the New Fallujah train, we know that at least 50% of the riders would be so illiterate they could not read the ticket. It would have to be called a “bullet train” since it would nearly require Madiganistan to become a “conceal carry” state for self protection.
Poor Willie Green. I’ll be the Koch brothers are behind this. ;’)
To get rid of funding for this, get rid of everything else brought to us by the green agenda — then the greeniacs will then attack high speed rail, since they have nothing else to do. Thanks Kaslin.
I’m holding out for the High Speed Stagecoach system. Now we’re talking.
Pray for America
Sen. Dick Turban (D-Madiganistan) proposed high speed trains from New Fallujah to Rahmabad, and from Rahmabad to St. Louis. In the case of the New Fallujah train, we know that at least 50% of the riders would be so illiterate they could not read the ticket. It would have to be called a “bullet train” since it would nearly require Madiganistan to become a “conceal carry” state for self protection.
I mean all of it, with no subsidies from the rest of us taxpayers who would never use it?
As a funny aside, the TSA made a big show at the Atlanta Amtrak station a couple weeks back. Overweight socom wannabees strolling around with their K9s, being expensively useless.
The news guy interviewed some of the waiting passengers to get their reaction, and they were cool with the jackboot show of force, but were a little miffed about their train being 6 hours late FROM NEW ORLEANS!
If I have to ride with the public, can’t take the dog, gun and everything I want, and does not go to the doorstop of the place I am going....meh. I will drive.
Your attitude is what Obama and the Democrats are counting on. I really don't mean that as an insult, either. It's just that, if they can build these damned things to run as advertised, they believe people will take to them.
They can't, and, of course, the TSA will follow, so it's all academic.
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