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[quote user="CMStPnP"] OK, well enough of the Southwest Airlines bit.     Back to the topic, which is they need to build a decent HSR system with intermodalism, stations that are convienent, fares that are reasonable for the time saved, etc.     I think a proper HSR line will add vs detract from productivity and the Economy where it is located.     I lived in Germany for 18 months and I was amazed I could reach just about any part of the country without a car and without shelling out a small fortune in fares.      Part of the advantage in Germany is that airports are not convienently located but train stations are.     They also have intermodialism at a lot of their stations.     I have a choice of Taxi, Rental Car, Bicycle Rental, Foot, Light Rail, Bus, etc.       Most American train stations do not come close.     So that needs to be fixed.     The Germans still have a steep Rail Passenger Subsidy which I think could be brought down with some privitization as well further efficiencies.    So I would not use the German model entirely.  [/quote] The International Monetary Fund (IMF) issued a warming this week regarding the excessive debt being piled up by the developed nations.  This includes the United States, where the national debt will reach 95 to 100 per cent of GDP by 2011.  According to the IMF, when the debt to GDP ratio reaches 90 per cent, economic growth is retarded by as much as one per cent per year.  Amongst other sources of data, the IMF bases its views on the actual numbers from Greece, Portugal, Ireland, etc., all of which are having tremedous debt servicing problems. Given these doleful numbers, how will the U.S.Government, which is tapped out, fund HSR so as to create  a postive rather than drag effect on the economy?  Every HSR proposal that I have read is looking to the federal government for a substantial portion of its capital and operating funds.
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