The followig is a Railway Age article why just passenger rail should not be held to " must provide all operating expenses from revenue " Food for thought.
http://www.railwayage.com/index.php/blogs/william-vantuono/if-the-source-of-funding-isnt-fares-then-amtrak-needs-to-go-away”.html?channel=
It is a very good list of items not paid for by users.
The point of the article, that there are many activities in the US that do not cover all of their operating expenses from their own revenues but few if any of us would abolish those activities, is well taken.
For example, when I go to my local supermarket I park free on a public street. In fact the government pays for my parking and the supermarket does not recover that expense from me. The supermarket does have its own parking lot but I find it more convenient to park on the street so I do that. So should my supermarket be closed down? I hope not.
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