tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21829866.post4496735396898538961..comments2023-08-20T07:06:14.115-04:00Comments on Thurber's Thoughts: The obsession with high-speed railMaggiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12677808307727487766noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21829866.post-9029653431356469162011-01-26T14:52:40.477-05:002011-01-26T14:52:40.477-05:00One of the many problems of our lawmakers is not b...One of the many problems of our lawmakers is not being a carful steward of our scarce tax dollars. They seem to think the "tax tree" can be shaken at any time and money falls for them to spend. One reason they believe this is that no matter what they do, we seem to re-elect them.<br /><br />Amtrack has been a money looser since inception, but we keep up the subsidy. A high speed rail system would lose money at a higher rate.Romanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07016139270835685661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21829866.post-13526647289561255442011-01-26T11:22:57.222-05:002011-01-26T11:22:57.222-05:00Consider why the railroad was built in the first p...Consider why the railroad was built in the first place, why it thrived and why it no longer thrives. Rhetorically, people on one side of the United States had goods and services that were in demand on the other side, and that demand was not a passing fad. Westward ho, and all that.<br /><br />One question I haven't seen asked and answered is: How many people travel the route to be serviced by high speed rail right now, and how many would like to travel and cannot because of the hardship involved? Truly, it's an arduous journey between the three Ohio cities.<br /><br />Alright, that's two questions. So sue me.<br /><br />I don't react well to coercion, which includes greenmail. I suspect that plans have been made in DC for that $400 million, and those plans do not consider the welfare (bad choice of words) of the taxpaying citizens of Ohio. I'm also reminded that if you'd like to control you population, controlling movement is a big deal. For instance, deny public transportation service to an area see what happens. Just a thought.<br /><br />When I lived in Wisconsin, the government was considering high speed rail between Madison, Milwaukee and Chicago, which would include service to outlying areas. The last word was that while high speed rail was a good idea, it wasn't financially feasible.Mad Jackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06190137186843630543noreply@blogger.com