Thread: Biden Announces $53 Billion Rail-Funding Plan

This will never pass. If Biden wanted to be like Buffet and lay claim to a choo-choo set, Pelosi and Reid should have crammed this rail earmark into the 2009 Porkulus which they never read.

'Bout time this administration spent some money.

at least the Obama administration is trying to spend money that will benefit OUR country.

Originally Posted by Prince

at least the Obama administration is trying to spend money that will benefit OUR country.

the US infrastructure is crumbling, we are actually decades behind on keeping up with this...it will cost us dearly in the future if more isn't done

I have about a dozen buddies in PA that work in the rail lines, none of them ride the train due to safety concerns.

Originally Posted by LAM

the US infrastructure is crumbling, we are actually decades behind on keeping up with this...it will cost us dearly in the future if more isn't done

I have about a dozen buddies in PA that work in the rail lines, none of them ride the train due to safety concerns.

That doesn't make any sense. Even with growing safety concerns, trains are far more safe than cars. I still love my car, and would despise riding a train to work.

Originally Posted by KelJu

That doesn't make any sense. Even with growing safety concerns, trains are far more safe than cars. I still love my car, and would despise riding a train to work.

I never really asked them about that in detail but obviously they know things the general public does not. I guess it was a non-issue to me, think I may have ridden the R5 in Philly maybe 5x in my whole life

This is great, love to see us investing in infrastructure more. We are way behind and need to start building more. This is a good use of money.

"High-speed rail may sound like a good idea. It works, and reportedly even makes a profit, in Japan and France. If they can do it, why can't we?

A look at some proposed projects gives the answer. Take the $2.7 billion, 84-mile line connecting Orlando and Tampa that incoming Florida Gov. Rick Scott is mulling over.

It would connect two highly decentralized metro areas that are already connected by Interstate 4. Urban scholar Wendell Cox, writing for the Reason Foundation, found that just about any door-to-door trip between the two metro areas would actually take longer by train than by auto, and would cost more. Why would any business traveler take the train?"



Read more at the Washington Examiner: High-speed rail is a fast way to waste taxpayer money | Michael Barone | Politics | Washington Examiner

Originally Posted by LAM

I never really asked them about that in detail but obviously they know things the general public does not. I guess it was a non-issue to me, think I may have ridden the R5 in Philly maybe 5x in my whole life

That shows how much you care about your carbon footprint. You must be one of those right-wing teabaggers that are trying to destroy our planet.

I wonder if this is one of those shovel ready jobs that the $787b we borrowed from China two years ago was supposed to have paid for. It's getting closer to 2012, so perhaps it is about time for the other half of that $ to be spent on putting some people back to work and bringing the unemployment rate down some, if only temporarily.

I think 1 big problem is the size of the country, france and japan is like 1 10th of US, and not sure about the weather conditions central US gets to much snow and temperature levels can be to low for a safe travel at 200 miles an hour.

Originally Posted by Imosted

I think 1 big problem is the size of the country, france and japan is like 1 10th of US, and not sure about the weather conditions central US gets to much snow and temperature levels can be to low for a safe travel at 200 miles an hour.

Bingo.

It's too frackin late in 99% of the country to implement something like high speed rail because the cities and suburbs have been built already. Had we done something like this in the 70's or 80's we could have built entire cities around the rail lines. At this point this is nothing but pork projects for unions and special interests. Sure it sounds good to say we are fixing our dilapidated infrastructure but in reality look at how many 2 and 4 lane bridges we can rebuild for what this multi-billion dollar rail boondoggle in Florida is going to cost. Anyone here live in FL? I have before and people are leaving FL in droves. The only industry in FL is low paying tourism and drug/illegal alien trafficking, which is why 18 wheeler after 18 wheeler dead heads out of FL.

Oh, I left out the best part. This country is all but bankrupt and we are 14+ TRILLION in debt and the debt climbs astronomically every day.

Take a look at this and tell me how many more trillion dollars DC needs to print then waste:

U.S. National Debt Clock : Real Time

Speaking of Obama's Porkulus Bill remember that $4000 cash for clunkers? That cost the taxpayer $24,000 per car! Tell me how bad we need the government spending our money (money we print BTW) right now.

Also, here's something the majority of the population knows but our gov't won't admit: Businesses create jobs, not government spending.

Originally Posted by Big Pimpin

Bingo.

It's too frackin late in 99% of the country to implement something like high speed rail because the cities and suburbs have been built already. Had we done something like this in the 70's or 80's we could have built entire cities around the rail lines. At this point this is nothing but pork projects for unions and special interests. Sure it sounds good to say we are fixing our dilapidated infrastructure but in reality look at how many 2 and 4 lane bridges we can rebuild for what this multi-billion dollar rail boondoggle in Florida is going to cost. Anyone here live in FL? I have before and people are leaving FL in droves. The only industry in FL is low paying tourism and drug/illegal alien trafficking, which is why 18 wheeler after 18 wheeler dead heads out of FL.

Oh, I left out the best part. This country is all but bankrupt and we are 14+ TRILLION in debt and the debt climbs astronomically every day.

Take a look at this and tell me how many more trillion dollars DC needs to print then waste:

U.S. National Debt Clock : Real Time

Speaking of Obama's Porkulus Bill remember that $4000 cash for clunkers? That cost the taxpayer $24,000 per car! Tell me how bad we need the government spending our money (money we print BTW) right now.

Also, here's something the majority of the population knows but our gov't won't admit: Businesses create jobs, not government spending.

I would love to know how giving someone $4000 for a shitbox cost each taxpayer $4000. Either each person bought 6 cars, or they borrowed the money at 500% interest. If you factor in the taxes collected on the sale and the income tax taken from the people selling the car as well as the corporate tax on the dealership, you could have gotten a better deal from a loan shark in Camden.

Originally Posted by Dale Mabry

I would love to know how giving someone $4000 for a shitbox cost each taxpayer $4000. Either each person bought 6 cars, or they borrowed the money at 500% interest. If you factor in the taxes collected on the sale and the income tax taken from the people selling the car as well as the corporate tax on the dealership, you could have gotten a better deal from a loan shark in Camden.

It didn't cost each taxpayer $4000. The rebate to the car buyer was $4000/per car but once the gov't fucked things up it cost the taxpayers $24,000/per car sold under cash for clunkers.

Originally Posted by Big Pimpin

It didn't cost each taxpayer $4000. The rebate to the car buyer was $4000/per car but once the gov't fucked things up it cost the taxpayers $24,000/per car sold under cash for clunkers.

Edmunds got that number by dividing cars sold by the cost of the program. That does not take in to account revenue generated by all of the taxes associated with the program. I'm not saying it was a good use of money, it wasn't. There was no way of determining if the car traded in had worse mpg than the one purchased, it didn't really do anything "green". I thought it was a stupid idea then, and I still think it was, but there is no way that math is right.