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<P mce_keep="true">[quote user="schlimm"]<B>Sam1:</B> <DIV>"Many of the people who participate in these forums, as well as organizations like NARP, point out the upside of passenger rail but fail to mention the downsides.  That is dishonest."</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>That remark is, quite simply, <SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">rude</SPAN>.  Advocates are not expected to show all sides of a positional question.  That is the responsibility of the other points of view to present in the "marketplace of ideas."</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><B>Sam1:</B></DIV> <DIV><B></B>"Most Americans are financially illiterate."</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Also a rather insulting observation.  Perhaps if accountants prepared financial statements that were easier to follow, more folks would not be so "clueless." [/quote]</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">In my judgment people who present only part of the story are being dishonest or at least not candid. I have consistently tried to present a balanced perspective of passenger rail; its high points and its low points.  Clearly, some people get upset with my doing so.  That is their choice.  I plan to continue presenting all sides of the story:  the good, the bad, and the ugly.  <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman">Why are advocates not expected to tell the complete story? <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>What is the logic for that statement? Political contestants are not expected to extol the virtues of their opposite number. <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>But this is a forum.  It is not a political contest.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">  </SPAN>Telling just one side of the story strikes me as lacking candor. </FONT></P> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">Illiterate means, according to Webster, "showing or marked by a lack of acquaintance with the fundamentals of a particular field of knowledge".  According to a study published last year by the U.S. Department of Education, 40 per cent of <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s graduating high school seniors cannot even calculate simple interest.  In addition, numerous studies have shown that a major cause of the mortgage mess was brought on by Americans who did not understand the terms of the mortgages that they took on.  A read of several of the authoritative books describing the financial crisis points to a low level of financial education as being a major contributor to the problem.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">  </SPAN>My comment on financial literacy was directed to an embedded generic reference to the public and not to anyone posting to this forum. <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>However, it is clear that many of the people who post to this forum don’t understand finance, just as it is clear that I am not an engineer.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">  </SPAN>That is one of the reasons that I don’t comment on technical matters, although I am better versed on them than many people might imagine.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">  </SPAN><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></FONT></P> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman">Accountants don't prepare bank statements, credit card statements, or mortgages.  Don’t worry, I am not going way.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">  </SPAN>I have been shouted at before; I suspect that it will continue.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">  </SPAN>   </FONT></P></DIV>
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