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[quote user="NKP guy"] I confess I am just amazed and incredulous at this technology.  In my wildest dreams I couldn't have imagined it!  It is awful to see these trains and this technology in daily use and action.....and then contemplate the state of passenger rail in this country.  Even if we did have a guage-changer, you can bet it'd be out of service half the time ("Sorry, Ma'm, you'll have to walk to Chicago from here today."). I'm sending these clips to friends, and I sincerely thank you for your help. [/quote] We could have a passenger rail system similar to what they have in many European countries, as well as China and Japan, if we are willing to pay considerably higher taxes to support them.  One of the  reasons petrol costs so much more in Europe than in the United States is due to the tax burden.  Some of these taxes are used to support passenger rail.  In addition, general fund taxes (income, sales, excise, etc.) paid by Europeans are substantially higher than those paid by U.S. citizens. The average U.S. direct tax burden, for example, is 25.4 per cent.  This does not include pass through taxes, i.e. those paid by businesses and passed on to their customers in the price of goods and services.  When these taxes are factored into the equation, the tax burden is between 38 and 42 per cent for a median income family.  By comparison, the average French direct tax burden is 43.7 per cent.  After accounting for pass through taxes, the tax burden for a median income French family is nearly 60 per cent of its income.  The sources for these numbers is the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and The Tax Policy Institute.
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