Faster Than a Speeding Bullet (Train)?
---
One of the issues that slipped through my fingers last week was a quick Amtrak update, but today’s op-ed from John Tierney reminded me to chime in briefly.
As you may recall, the Bush Administration originally called for eliminating Amtrak’s roughly $1 billion annual subsidy entirely.
“See Kip, these Republicans can be libertarians when they want to be...”
Then the tax-and-spend Republican Congress nixed that idea.
“Um, you were saying?”
So as a compromise (because, of course, when you have Republicans dealing with other Republicans, compromise is obviously required), they decided, not to compromise between spending zero and spending a lot, but to compromise between spending a lot on Amtrak directly and spending a lot on the states, which can then spend a lot on Amtrak.
Ah, the glory of federalism — not.
Meanwhile, Tierney focuses on the specific boondoggle known as Acela (“See, we have bullet trains too!”) Except that they’re not so bullety:week until summer, after being shut down most of last week.)
So, bottom line, even if you can’t go quite as libertarian as “it shouldn’t be subsidized at all,” can you at least go as libertarian as “it shouldn’t be subsidized moronically”?
And, more importantly, can Congress?
As you may recall, the Bush Administration originally called for eliminating Amtrak’s roughly $1 billion annual subsidy entirely.
“See Kip, these Republicans can be libertarians when they want to be...”
Then the tax-and-spend Republican Congress nixed that idea.
“Um, you were saying?”
So as a compromise (because, of course, when you have Republicans dealing with other Republicans, compromise is obviously required), they decided, not to compromise between spending zero and spending a lot, but to compromise between spending a lot on Amtrak directly and spending a lot on the states, which can then spend a lot on Amtrak.
Ah, the glory of federalism — not.
Meanwhile, Tierney focuses on the specific boondoggle known as Acela (“See, we have bullet trains too!”) Except that they’re not so bullety:
Aside from the latest problem with the brakes, the Acela has been plagued by cracks in its suspension system (which shut down the service in 2002) and goofs ranging from bathroom doors that don't work to cars that were built, oops, four inches too wide for the train to take curves at high speeds. It's a slowpoke by international standards even when it arrives on schedule, but it's on time on only three-quarters of its trips. Amtrak officials no longer pretend that Acela is the future — they've vowed not to buy any more of the trains...So we see that it’s not just a question of propping up unprofitable routes (which, remember, are unprofitable because people don’t use them). Even the one route that could unequivocally make money — high-speed service between New York and Washington — has been completely botched by the Amtrak bureaucracy. (Note: The latest wire reports are that Acela trains will not run this
So, bottom line, even if you can’t go quite as libertarian as “it shouldn’t be subsidized at all,” can you at least go as libertarian as “it shouldn’t be subsidized moronically”?
And, more importantly, can Congress?
All Related Posts (on one page) | Some Related Posts:
Posted by KipEsquire on
19 April 2005
To comment on this post, please visit the new blogsite.