House overwhelmingly passes Amtrak funding bill with veto-proof majority!!

[Pinocchio Liberal 268]

If something is soooooo good why does it need government funding?

Do you hold the interstate highway system to the same standard?

Because they get a whole lot of government subsidies. And it's a very good system, too.

Mass Transit works incredibly well in densely populated areas. See the success of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor line if you doubt that.

Amtraks management should be looked at before we throw more money at it. If the notheast line is a success, keep it! Is amtrak even worth 15 billion as a business?

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

If the notheast line is a success, keep it!

The majority of monies allocated in this bill go towards sectors in which there is demonstrable demand for mass transit - mostly in the northeast.

[Niels Bohr 72]

If something is soooooo good why does it need government funding?

Do you hold the interstate highway system to the same standard?

Because they get a whole lot of government subsidies. And it's a very good system, too.

Mass Transit works incredibly well in densely populated areas. See the success of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor line if you doubt that.

Amtraks management should be looked at before we throw more money at it. If the notheast line is a success, keep it! Is amtrak even worth 15 billion as a business?

Having it subsidized will make it cheaper for the commuters. It's a win-win situation. Somethings needs to be controlled by the government. Amtrak is pretty much a monopoly compared to utilities as well. So, if Amtrak is not regulated and/or subsidized, I would guess they probably will charge us more money per ride. The government does subsidized electric companies to lower the cost of the electric bill. There's no competition for the monopolists, so raising the price is not unusual.

[Pinocchio Liberal 268]

If the notheast line is a success, keep it!

The majority of monies allocated in this bill go towards sectors in which there is demonstrable demand for mass transit - mostly in the northeast.

Allocation and where it actually goes are two different things. I think your being a bit naive with trusting the allocation of funds.

[Pinocchio Liberal 268]

If something is soooooo good why does it need government funding?

Do you hold the interstate highway system to the same standard?

Because they get a whole lot of government subsidies. And it's a very good system, too.

Mass Transit works incredibly well in densely populated areas. See the success of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor line if you doubt that.

Amtraks management should be looked at before we throw more money at it. If the notheast line is a success, keep it! Is amtrak even worth 15 billion as a business?

Having it subsidized will make it cheaper for the commuters. It's a win-win situation. Somethings needs to be controlled by the government. Amtrak is pretty much a monopoly compared to utilities as well. So, if Amtrak is not regulated and/or subsidized, I would guess they probably will charge us more money per ride. The government does subsidized electric companies to lower the cost of the electric bill. There's no competition for the monopolists, so raising the price is not unusual.

I beleive subsidies come from taxes. Taxes come from you

[Niels Bohr 72]

If something is soooooo good why does it need government funding?

Do you hold the interstate highway system to the same standard?

Because they get a whole lot of government subsidies. And it's a very good system, too.

Mass Transit works incredibly well in densely populated areas. See the success of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor line if you doubt that.

Amtraks management should be looked at before we throw more money at it. If the notheast line is a success, keep it! Is amtrak even worth 15 billion as a business?

Having it subsidized will make it cheaper for the commuters. It's a win-win situation. Somethings needs to be controlled by the government. Amtrak is pretty much a monopoly compared to utilities as well. So, if Amtrak is not regulated and/or subsidized, I would guess they probably will charge us more money per ride. The government does subsidized electric companies to lower the cost of the electric bill. There's no competition for the monopolists, so raising the price is not unusual.

I beleive subsidies come from taxes. Taxes come from you

How much more, we're still paying the same amount of taxes? It's not increasing.

[Dr. Obvious 49]

Now, build me a high speed train from here to Chicago.

Not quite to Chicago... but thought you might be interested, if you didn't already know:

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/arti.../NEWS/806120507

Well, we will see what happens with this. They proposed this line several years ago and then it got shelved. Hopefully now with $4 and climbing gas, it will finally get rolling. I do think it needs to be far more frequent than every 30 minutes...

What would be nice to see would be light rail lines that followed the city's grid system. US 31 north and south and US 40 east and west, in addition to a line from the northeast and northwest suburbs and a line from the airport to downtown.