If they’re hemorrhaging cash, tighten up or cut it off.
Rat run cities bottomless pit of money has ended
So, Donald no longer wants to subsidize failure.
America approves.
Violent ghetto dullards hardest hit.
Is that a 13% cut before or after baseline budgeting? In any case, the SoNO is there, along with most of the rest of Amtrak’s trains, to cover up the fact that Amtrak exists for 1 reason. And that’s the NE corridor route the pols use. The rest of the system is horrifically expensive and overpriced camouflage.
Trump ‘skinny budget’ would starve Chicago transit, City of New Orleans train: officials
President Trump should just automatically deny funding to these rail and transit systems.
For the past 2 weeks, the local politicians have been harping on the need for renovation of the local rail station. The cost would be north of $86 million. Someone one did a study and found that only 108 people use the system on a daily basis. This works out to $796K per passenger. The politicians won’t let this go. (I suspect it means jobs for cronies and relatives during the 2 years of renovation work).
One of the local talk radio guys suggested that we simply give each daily rider a Cadillac Escalade at a cost of $73K each. It would be cheaper by more than 10X.
It is exactly the right thing for President Trump to deny funding for these type of money pit projects.
Passenger trains are in many cases a 19th Century solution to 21st Century transportation problems. They have their place in high-population-density areas. Unfortunately, many policy makers live/work in such areas, and think their transportation problems are everyone’s, even those in flyover country without the population density.
The local - NYC, Chicago - major urban “mass transit systems” were built without federal funds. What did he politicians and unions do that turned their operations into financial losses that were unsustainable without taxpayer subsidies from everyone, instead “user fee” taxes on the mass transit users?
Th report said Chicago would “disappear” with the federal budget cuts. That’s amazing in as much Chicago, not the nation, rebuilt Chicago after the great fire - when there was not even the federal “emergency management” agency.
What is this all really about.
It’s about federal dependency. The political class transferred local dollars to Washington D.C. in the form of higher federal taxes, and with them transferred control to Washington D.C., and became dependent on the opium of “federal funding”.
I would only say to Trump one thing. That is: dollar for dollar, cut federal taxes as much as we are cutting the federal budget. At first it will seem like leaving a deficit in place, but the economic activity from the tax reduction - taxable economic activity - we’ll soon reduce that deficit.
“The Steel Rails still ain’t heard the news”
All of these are money losing boondoggles and have been for years. Why support them.
As everything else they support, liberals have to build a false narrative around the national passenger rail system in order to win the support of those who don’t know better. Images of “ridin’ the rails” and nostalgic Woody Guthrie songs give the average reader an impression that Amtrak has an air of romance surrounding it.
In reality Amtrak trains have the air of dirty seats and carpets, lousy food, and filthy train stations.
Why should I pay for Chicago thugs to get to their preferred mugging site?
The eastern corridor is the big exception. The east coast is congested, period. The interstate highways are clogged and will only get worse. There is nowhere to build new ones. Amtrak needs to get its costs down somehow; if it weren't so danged expensive, there would be a much bigger market.
If they want to survive, they need to break even or make a profit.
Or, if it is sooooo important, the State or local governments need to subsidize them, not the Federales.
Would these trains be part of the overall public transportation infrastructure that white people pay for but can't use lest they'd get assaulted and robbed by certain demographics that pay for nothing?
Starve every last penny.
It is refreshing to see that Trump’s “cuts” are really cuts instead of a cut in the intended growth. MAGA
Why does Chicago expect some hard working taxpayer in another part of The Country to subsidize a chi-town punk riding transit, and BTW are they aware that we have a $20 TRILLION deficit?
If there was any question about this funding, and there shouldn’t be, this answers it perfectly:
Section. 8.
The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;
To borrow Money on the credit of the United States;
To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;
To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;
To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;
To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;
To establish Post Offices and post Roads;
To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;
To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;
To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations;
To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;
To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;
To provide and maintain a Navy;
To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;
To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;
To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;
To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings;—And
To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.
Stop involuntary redistribution of wealth and liberty.
Anyone concerned about this (i.e. dem govs & mayors) should be really concerned about SS, medicare, other entitlements, and the debt. We aren’t too far off from have no money for anything but those and defense.
If a global recession hits in 10 years we won’t be able to quantitativly ease (i.e. print money) our way to paying for entitlements, much less give money to states/cities. Or maybe we will print enough money but it won’t be worth as much.
Governors & mayors need to be getting their budgets in order before the federal money runs out. Or fighting to reduce the federal entitlements.