A Stitch in Haste

"We cannot depend entirely on airplanes and roads."

--Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) in calling for even more subsidies for Amtrak.

Here's the thing: we most certainly can rely entirely on airplanes and roads. We do it every single day.

How much more remedial can one make it: Amtrak loses money because people don't use it. People don't use it because people neither need nor want to use it. People are -- gasp! -- relying entirely on airplanes and roads.

(I don't know whether Lautenberg was being slick or stupid, but I find it interesting that he said "airplanes and roads" rather than "airplanes and cars." The response to the lament that "poor people can't afford to fly" is, of course, Greyhound and its competitors -- which, to my knowledge, receive no direct federal subsidies.)

So when Lautenberg says, "We cannot depend entirely on airplanes and roads," what he really means is "I get a warm fuzzy feeling from the thought of having Amtrak, and that's more important than any other use that you might have for your tax dollars."

Oh, and speaking of warm fuzzy feelings, I'm sure Lautenberg, the "selfless public servant," is getting all tingly over the new Secaucus transit hub that was recently named after him. "Selfless" indeed.