Perhaps the HSR is an acronym for the HySteRia we seem to be hearing? "The sky is falling," said Chicken Little. The real crisis was at the end of 2008 and well into 2009, with the worst economic mess since the great depression.
That said, I think current priorities do not include HSR expansion. Military cuts? Realistically, in view of the instability in the Middle East/Egypt, that isn't going to happen anytime soon.
C&NW, CA&E, MILW, CGW and IC fan
so somebody explain reasons (not opinion) why we need HSR and what benefit we gain because I can't see any reason for it especially when run by the federal government.
I stand by my statement that it is not about dollars it's about priorities.
I hear lots of people complaining about money wasted on infrastructure, including HSR, and humanitarian aid for our citizens. I hear people even calling for the revocation of the pensions of government retirees, and undermining Social Security. But I hear almost no one complaining that 8.7 BILLION dollars is unaccounted for in Iraq, or about the cost of maintaining hundreds of military bases all over the world. I hear almost no one complaining about billions of dollars of incentives that are given to oil companies, even thought they are making record profits while the country struggles. I hear the same people who are complaining that the government doesn't have enough money to operate demanding billions of dollars in tax cuts for the richest 3% of Americans, thereby reducing the amount of money the government takes in.
It's about how we choose to spend the money that we do have. It's about priorities. The double edge sword of morality: What you will do for a dollar and what you do with a dollar.
Dave
Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow
Henry,
Americans don’t need the "S" in HSR to define socialism. They can clearly see that they are about to be suffocated by socialism in every new policy coming at them. HSR is just one facet of it. And I disagree with your assessment that people are only opposing HSR because they personally resent somebody getting a free train ride. It is not about personal grudges.
Paul,
You said this:
“…but what is the correct action at this juncture -- to spend money we don't have on more projects, worthwhile they may be? Yes we can borrow and run deficits, but when the accumulated deficit reaches around 100% of GNP, you are pretty much maxed out because the interest payments are going to bleed you white.”
Not according to the proponents of economic stimulus. We are being told that the solution to our economic problems is indeed to spend more money that we don’t have. That is the magic of stimulus. It takes a dollar and turns it into two dollars.
You say this downturn is just another cycle that we will come out of. I would not be so sure of that. It might be just a cycle of some sort, but there are some cycles that begin and end nations.
The S does not stand for Socialism. It stands for (non-)Sequitor.
There are TV shows I never watch, maybe I am not that interested, maybe model railroad club meets on the nights those shows are on. "Boston Legal" is such a show, but I have been a fan of WIlliam Shatner since Star Trek, and out of curiosity I looked up the Wikipedia on his character Denny Crane.
It is explained that Denny Crane is the head of his law firm and a lawyer with a very high opinion of himself, taken with speaking out his name "Denny Crane!" to "remind people they are in the presence of greatness." Part of the show and part of the development of the character is that Denny Crane starts to have "senior moments' -- perhaps simple mental lapses, perhaps early-onset senile dementia, perhaps a man who should have retired instead of keeping himself in charge of his law firm. The running joke on the show, perhaps dark humor as it deals with a sad all-too-real-world subject of getting old and losing one's mental edge, is that the character blurts out "Denny Crane!" at odd and perhaps inappropriate moments.
The government at all levels appears to be broke right now. My brother-in-law thinks the "Republicans in Congress are the worst kind of hypocrites for saying they want to cut spending given what had gone on (in the previous presidency when Republicans controlled three branches of government)." The man believes that what he believes, and who is to say that he isn't right and the Republicans or Tea Party people or whoever are all hypocrites, but what is the correct action at this juncture -- to spend money we don't have on more projects, worthwhile they may be? Yes we can borrow and run deficits, but when the accumulated deficit reaches around 100% of GNP, you are pretty much maxed out because the interest payments are going to bleed you white.
The President appeared before a Joint Session of Congress as is his duty under the Constitution, the sense of anticipation is in the air regarding what the President's vision of getting the fiscal house in order is going to be, and the President announces "High Speed Trains!", which under the circumstances is pretty much a non-sequitor.
I used to believe Sam1 was being a scold and if there was a political will, one could always run up the deficit another notch to pay for one's "vision", but I am coming to the belief that the day of reckoning has arrived. High Speed Trains! The economy goes in cycles, and we will come out of this deep down cycle some day. California is dead broke, but they are still talking "High Speed Trains!" The Federal government is going down the road, and the President and Congress should be working together on . . High Speed Trains!
If GM "killed the electric car", what am I doing standing next to an EV-1, a half a block from the WSOR tracks?
Americans are afraid of HSR because they believe the S stands for Socialism. We can't have the government paying for High Speed Rail, now, if it means that someone else is gonna get a faster ride then me while I pay for it!
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California has one other option for there HSR and that is let China build and receive all of the monies from it for the first twenty years of operation. That has been discussed on severl occasions and may be the answer for HSR in other parts of the US.
Joining a thread won't make it political.
The only way to make a thread political is to push the "report abuse" button.
There is no way to join this thread without it becoming political.
I have not heard anything on the Florida HSR since Scott said he does not want state money going into the project. On one hand, you might expect the Fed to pull out of the Florida HSR, but it was to be their demo project, so the future of HSR would hang on the Flordia roll-out. And the Fed already has a lot invested in Florida HSR.
The term "rescission" is being tossed around lately, as a way for the new House to recover unspent ARRA funds. There is some internal debate in the GOP about this as well as whether to divert those dollars to other pet projects or reduce the deficit.
In reading the article, it's clear that Mr. Frailey not only means projects like California, but as the term "high speed" is defined by the FRA to include 110 mph upgrades. In other words, projects such as Chicago/St Louis are included.
I'd like to believe he is just being provocative, but maybe he is saying what some of us have been thinking. The thing I wonder about is the willingness of the administration to continue to spend funds that have already been appropriated in the face of a Congress that would not authorize such spending today.
It's an interesting question.
Take a look at Fred Frailey's column in the recent Trains (check online if you are a subscriber).
Certainly not much room for optimism about HSR in the US.
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