Posted on 03/30/2017 4:51:28 AM PDT by SJackson
The City of New Orleans, the train immortalized in the Steve Goodman song, could disappear under President Donald Trump's preliminary budget blueprint.
So could the California Zephyr, the Empire Builder and other storied long-distance Amtrak runs, along with the federal funding that could replace Metra's out-of-date rolling stock, unclog Chicago freight traffic and extend the CTA's Red Line from 95th Street to 130th Street, according to transit advocates and officials.
Trump's 2018 "skinny budget" proposes a 13 percent cut on federal funding for transportation, which is directed entirely against nonroad spending. Trump's 2018 spending plan will start getting more attention in Congress since the bill to replace the Affordable Care Act has been pulled for lack of votes. A full budget release is expected in May.
The president's transportation budget proposal may ultimately get no further than did the Republican health care bill. But the transit cuts laid out in the proposal are still worrying local transit advocates and agency officials, since they show the administration's priorities.
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
“Pass the paper bag that holds the bottle.”
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
Everything you need to know about the Federal Boondoggle known as Amtrak can be found in Iowa Pacific’s recent foray operating the “Hoosier State” train.
They spent millions redoing the train, and providing services, resulting in increasing ridership and ratings, only to see it wrecked by Amtrak and it’s unions.
They finally gave up on it a couple of months ago, because Amtrak was getting the lion’s share of revenue, while IP was paying all of the bills.
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?
Sell them to Warren Buffett. What remains would be top notch.
In the real world, one of their tickets without gov’t money...probably would be $1,500 for a one-way between New Orleans and DC.
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.
That I have to help subsidize Chicago’s subway is outrageous. I live 900 miles away.
I looked into the California Zephyr when I was moving back east from California... the cost for Me, my wife and my child to take it to Chicago from California was thousands of dollars when all the expenses were added up (ticket, room, meals, etc) and 3 days. I flew back in 4.5 hours and spent well under $1000
If the California Zephyr can’t be run profitably, (when it has the added appeal of being a touristy draw), then maybe it should die. This isn’t a commuter route, its a 3 day cross country train ride, and honestly it is a tourist line, not a pragmatic transportation line... Its one thing to argue subsidy for commuter transportation... there are reasonable models to justify it... for that line, there is no model that justifies operating it if it can’t be done profitably.
Privatize the railways.
Similar story... I took my kids to New York a few years back and we decided to try the train. Left Atlanta at about 7:00 PM, stopped at every town along the way and arrived in New York the next day around 3:00 PM. We had a sleeper car and ate three meals in the diner. I will never ride Amtrak again. It was a long trip due to all of the stops. The track is in terrible condition in some areas, I thought we were going to derail a few times! Food was edible but I think Macdonalds would have been an improvement.
Most of my adult life the libs have been fighting to get “light rail” established in KCMO. Finally they got a two mile corridor between downtown and the Plaza.
I regularly ride the German railway....it’s like night and day, when you talk about the terrible conditions. If you were holding a cup of coffee on an Amtrak railway....you’d slush it all over yourself. Maybe slept a total of two hours all night. Can’t think of any reason why I’d be paying $300-or more on such a ticket like that.
Just wait till you get cut off entirely for harboring illegals!
Why is the federal budget subsidizing local transportation? Especially well-established local transportation?
In the time it took the "City of New Orleans" to get to Memphis, I could've driven there and almost back home again. It was damned near nine hours, but I guess collecting nickel-and-dime partial fares (in cash, aboard the train) is of paramount importance.
Amtrak is a waste of resources.
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