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Amtrak Funding to be Signed by President

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According to an article appearing in today's Washington Post, some economists are predicting that the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region> will run a federal budget deficit of $1 trillion in the first fiscal year of the new President's term.  This will be the largest federal deficit, as a per cent of national income, since 1946. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>The <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region> national debt stands at $10.3 trillion or an average of approximately $85,000 per household.  Adding in mortgage, credit card, consumer, and state and local debt brings the average debt load to approximately $207,000.  I dare say that there are not many heads of households who could pay off this debt in the near future.<o:p></o:p>Passenger trains make sense in relatively short, high density corridors.  But long distance trains, which are used by less than one per cent of those traveling by commercial carrier, make no sense.  If they were eliminated, Amtrak would save approximately $500 million per year, which would reduce significantly the amount of federal subsidy that it requires.<o:p></o:p>
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