Thoughts on this data released from the new Transportation Sec...(Wife of Majority Leader). If cuts are put in place....about all that remains would be the NEC. And we all know much update is critical with that system....This is absolutely no surprise to me when first learning she was appointed...!
Thoughts from forum members please......
Quentin
A chronic liar was elected President.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Nah - I better not...
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
It is about time! As JJ Hill is reported to have said about passenger trains, when they were actually important, a time long gone. "Passenger trains are like teats on a boar, neither useful nor decorative."
It is time to kill the bleeding sore that is ATK outside the NEC. Hope Congress has the guts to do it!
There are enough Congressmen and Senators with Amtrak somewhere in their district or state that I suspect Amtrak is safe. It is something we've made a considerable investment in, which investment pales in comparison to money spent on Interstate highways and airports. So I'm casting a pro-Amtrak vote here. It's an alternative a nation with a growing population should have.
The Ferro Kid There are enough Congressmen and Senators with Amtrak somewhere in their district or state that I suspect Amtrak is safe. It is something we've made a considerable investment in, which investment pales in comparison to money spent on Interstate highways and airports. So I'm casting a pro-Amtrak vote here. It's an alternative a nation with a growing population should have.
As everyone who cares about the future should. Unfortunately there are a lot of folks like PNWRMNM.
C&NW, CA&E, MILW, CGW and IC fan
zardozGotta save money to pay for the border wall.
If budget for Amtrak is cut as I have written....that will be the end of our rail passenger transportation system as we know it...Amtrak can never be improved if it continues to be cut to shreds by Republican leaders.....Like is being requested in upcoming budget request. Whom could plan ahead for improvements when under the cutting threat each..budgit season. Republican leadership has put Amtrak Leaders under this threat for decades....Now...with their control of Congress & the W H they most likely will finally get it
Republicans had control of WH & Congress in the middle of Pres. George W. Bush's term, and Amtrak was not abolished. What makes this time diffrent?
The control of Congress, w/the strong arm of the Freedom Caucus, coupled w/an adminstration that has proposed a huge reduction for psgr rail will likely lead to major mileage cuts to the Amtrak map.I'm not basically for it, but I get it. As a citizen I would be willing to give up Amtrak in return to make our country better. Its not about me, me me but what is the best direction our nation needs to go in regard to transportation. People do have to keep in mind that Amtrak is not going away regardless of what the forthcoming cuts will bring when that time comes. Service will remain on several regional high rider corridors which could be expanded. This is not the end of the world. It's change, but nothing to be doom & gloom of. As a nation, we are faced w/bigger issues compared to this
In the words of Captain Louis Renault (Claude Rains), "I'm shocked! SHOCKED!"
Yes, and Manhattan security for his family, and trips to Mira Lago, and Jared Kushner's nifty new bullet proof vest. Did you see the pictures today? He makes Michael Dukakis in the tank look like Rambo!
Sorry, but I can't take this disgusting circus seriously.
Tom
A few points seem to become evident:
1. The long distance cutbacks are phrased so as to free up Amtrak's resources and time to focus on the NEC and state supported regional services. If this was an all out war on Amtrak, They would seek to jettison the whole thing.
2. Essential air service subsidies will also get the ax. Combined with the privatization of air traffic control, which may result in higher fees for the airlines, will this hasten the loss of air service to smaller cities and higher cost for a plane ticket? Is there an opportunity for Amtrak to take advantage of here? Inquiring minds would like to know.
Amtrak......The first that this Administration wants to gut. Believe he ran on rebuilding our infrastructure.....Sounds like rip it up and spend it...who knows where. If that is what he wanted to do while running for election he should have said so. You bet, it spells the demise of Amtrak long term if they get their way.
The mess at NYPS this week ""MAY"" help the NEC but we cannot count on it ?
The problem here is that what he's proposing isn't going against his campaign promises...he talked about spending big on INFRASTRUCTURE, well, ATK in of itself is not infrastructure, the railroads it runs on are infrastructure...but, where the problem comes from is that he's cutting items that amount to fractions of a percent of the Federal budget, which is a complete waste when what you want to cut are programs that are at least in the 10's of billions or more around 2 - 5% of the Federal budget in order to make a difference. Things like the farm subsidy, or foreign countries subsidies...now cutting those programs would make a significant difference in our budget deficit, but small time stuff like funding ATK, PP, NPR, NEA, NOAA, etc. are worthless...besides the number of jobs you'd be losing.
GERALD L MCFARLANE JR The problem here is that what he's proposing isn't going against his campaign promises...he talked about spending big on INFRASTRUCTURE, well, ATK in of itself is not infrastructure, the railroads it runs on are infrastructure...but, where the problem comes from is that he's cutting items that amount to fractions of a percent of the Federal budget, which is a complete waste when what you want to cut are programs that are at least in the 10's of billions or more around 2 - 5% of the Federal budget in order to make a difference. Things like the farm subsidy, or foreign countries subsidies...now cutting those programs would make a significant difference in our budget deficit, but small time stuff like funding ATK, PP, NPR, NEA, NOAA, etc. are worthless...besides the number of jobs you'd be losing.
Great. Let's spend a bunch of money on infrastructure, then have no trains to run on it. Makes perfect sense to me.
ACYGreat. Let's spend a bunch of money on infrastructure, then have no trains to run on it. Makes perfect sense to me.
Watch this to explain what so many of us know. And please note. Amtrack is not the only infrastructure out there, and may not be the most important.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwjwePe-HmA
LensCapOn Watch this to explain what so many of us know. And please note. Amtrack is not the only infrastructure out there, and may not be the most important. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwjwePe-HmA
Interesting. Would love to see a parallel production about airline travel... Or better yet, a side-by-side comparison in one video.
I watched that till the narrator said 1.7 gallons per mile for the airliner. At that point I knew the rest of the video would be BS.
Norm
I' am sure that making massive cuts in rail AND transit will make this country " better ". Thier plenty of waste in the federal budget to support infrastructure improvements and rail iniatives including long distance passenger trains.
Put the mail back on the trains. It's what really used to pay the bills before. (Truck drivers already in short demand and their taxpayer subsidized use could move other things, hopefully with a little more realistic user fee attached.)... In some corridors, the mail might get there faster.
mudchickenPut the mail back on the trains.
MC:
I would support that if it meant my issue of Trains didn't have to spend two days swimming across Lake Michigan. I always seem to get it about four days later than those on the west coast.
mudchickenPut the mail back on the trains. It's what really used to pay the bills before. (Truck drivers already in short demand and their taxpayer subsidized use could move other things, hopefully with a little more realistic user fee attached.)... In some corridors, the mail might get there faster.
Except that USPS is supposedly a 'stand alone' organization that is being financially slughtered by UPS, FedEx and internet communications.
BaltACD mudchicken Except that USPS is supposedly a 'stand alone' organization that is being financially slughtered by UPS, FedEx and internet communications.
mudchicken
Balt:
USPS is a government corporation no matter which way you slice it and has a ton of deadwoood/fat in it's organazition. That's typical of anything run by the feds. Try to fire a postal employee and see how far that goes. You and I are aware of that. You've dealt with FRA and I've put up with the FAA. They are not for profit organizations but in some cases simply leeches feeding off the blood of others. FAA people can be real a**holes. Most, if not all, federal agencies/administrations could stand a good house cleaning. Getting rid of the dead wood ( those who collect a paycheck just for showing up at work and the same applies to the state I live in) could improve things immensly.
Just my two cents worth.
FedEx moves quite a bit of mail across the country that is picked up and delivered by the post office. The USPS is also the only entity legally allowed to handle first-class mail, hence using the parcel carriers as intermediaries. Despite losing money it is an essential service that benefits everyone for relatively little cost nationally. Discretionary spending is not the driver of our current budget issues. Social Security and Medicare soak up a horrendous amount each year and those costs cannot be altered without a literal act of Congress.
KielbasaSocial Security and Medicare soak up a horrendous amount each year
If the government would leave SS alone (ie, stop stealing from it), it wouldn't be a drain. I draw SS - it's my money that I've already paid in (as did my employers). So you can't complain about how much it soaks up. It's not an "entitlement," unless you want to consider that I'm entitled to it because it's my money.
I'm pretty sure I paid money into Medicare, too.
tree68 Kielbasa If the government would leave SS alone (ie, stop stealing from it), it wouldn't be a drain. I draw SS - it's my money that I've already paid in (as did my employers). So you can't complain about how much it soaks up. It's not an "entitlement," unless you want to consider that I'm entitled to it because it's my money. I'm pretty sure I paid money into Medicare, too.
Kielbasa
Corporate Welfare is the real entitlement program - and we will only see more of it going forward.
The last BA-6 I recieved from RRB said I had paid in excess of 85K on credited earnings of 2.6M over my 50 year career. The carriers also contributed, but their contributions aren't shown to employees. SSA & RRB are not entitlements, except to those who want to steal them for themselves (Paul Ryan etc.)
tree68 Kielbasa Social Security and Medicare soak up a horrendous amount each year If the government would leave SS alone (ie, stop stealing from it), it wouldn't be a drain. I draw SS - it's my money that I've already paid in (as did my employers). So you can't complain about how much it soaks up. It's not an "entitlement," unless you want to consider that I'm entitled to it because it's my money. I'm pretty sure I paid money into Medicare, too.
Kielbasa Social Security and Medicare soak up a horrendous amount each year
Sadly, the money you've paid in throughout your career is long gone. The folks paying your benefits these days are just starting out and with the growing number of retirees the problem is only getting worse. It was never intended for someone to live on SS for 30+ years. Adjustments need to be made for the future to ensure it is still around, including pushing back retirement ages and helping people establish their own retirement portfolios in the absence of company pensions that were the norm when SS was passed into law. For too many people it is their sole source of income. Social security alone in 2016 accounted for 24% of the federal budget totaling $891B. Medicare was another $536B. Some other figures to consider, of $920B (2016) in revenue $891B (2016) was paid out to beneficiaries. Hardly stealing. That'll pay for Amtrak for a darn long time.
Kielbasa tree68 Kielbasa If the government would leave SS alone (ie, stop stealing from it), it wouldn't be a drain. I draw SS - it's my money that I've already paid in (as did my employers). So you can't complain about how much it soaks up. It's not an "entitlement," unless you want to consider that I'm entitled to it because it's my money. I'm pretty sure I paid money into Medicare, too. Sadly, the money you've paid in throughout your career is long gone. The folks paying your benefits these days are just starting out and with the growing number of retirees the problem is only getting worse. It was never intended for someone to live on SS for 30+ years. Adjustments need to be made for the future to ensure it is still around, including pushing back retirement ages and helping people establish their own retirement portfolios in the absence of company pensions that were the norm when SS was passed into law. For too many people it is their sole source of income. Social security alone in 2016 accounted for 24% of the federal budget totaling $891B. Medicare was another $536B. Some other figures to consider, of $920B (2016) in revenue $891B (2016) was paid out to beneficiaries. Hardly stealing. That'll pay for Amtrak for a darn long time.
How dare those retirees continue to live year after year. Do away with Healthcare and they will die quicker - is that a win win???????????????
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.