Why Do Conservatives oppose High Speed Rail?

I'm not going to provide a complete business plan.

Because you can't. It just gives you good feelings thinking about high speed rail.

 

High speed planes which the US has a whole bunch more of than the rest of the world that can land at airports that we have a bunch more of than the rest or the world, both of which are subsidized by the federal government, might be a clue; that people don't want to be plowed into by a 200 mph train probably is part of it; that most if not all existing railroad tracks and rights of way are privately owned; and since the DC Metro cost like a billion per mile to build and run, I can't imagine what these high speed rail beds would cost. We have better things to spend those trillions on, like me for instance.

 

So provide a range of potential possibilities for calculations. The worst case, best case scenario or something Mr. Supposed Accountant. That's what we do in these situations.

This isn't some intangible concept like federal policy. You can provide a RANGE of possibilities to us all, convince us.

 

You are definitely high maintenance and worth the expense.

 

no idea where you get your concorde information from but it is incorrect.

British Airways predecessors paid the manufacturers more than GBP155 million for the Concorde fleet (source:1977/78 Report and Accounts) and over the following 27 years of operation British Airways has invested more than GBP1 billion in the fleet.

The Concorde book value was written down to nil in 1979 and subsequent capital investments to 1983 were also written off to nil. (source: 1987 Prospectus on British Airways privatisation)

In March 1984 the government ended its involvement with Concorde when British Airways assumed full responsibility for Concorde support costs. British Airways Board paid GBP16.5 million to acquire the government's stock of spare parts and was released from the profit share scheme under which the government collected 80 per cent of Concorde operating surpluses.

In 1987 the government privatised British Airways and collected more than GBP900 million for selling its interest in the airline, including Concorde.

The proceeds raised from privatisation, in excess of GBP900 million, more than covered the government's investment in British Airways, including the Concorde fleet.

 

Actually it's not my job to subsidize sloth.

 

Concorde was never profitable in the true honest sense of the word.

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/24/nyregion/24CND-AIR.html

 

Oh, so you've done the projections etc.? It's not hard, just post the excel file. I'm sure you spent hours following up with your "vision" lol to actually make sure it was practical. Just send over the spreadsheet, it'll take you 10 seconds!

 

Which still skips over my points of

What mode of transport IS profitable?
and WHY does infrastructure have to have a profit line when it is a service to the economy?

 

Maybe you don't realize it, but we're dirt damn broke. We owe people a hell of a lot of money. We can't afford to venture into something that will just be another suck down of resources. Those who fail to learn from the past are doomed to repeat it:

http://www.budgettravel.com/blog/amtrak-loses-32-per-rider,10927/

 

Who do we owe a lot of money to?

 

Doesn't matter. The fed can just print more money to pay off the debt

 

And we are done.

 

The Fed (along with every other sovereign power in the world) has been doing it for over 30 years.. why would they stop now?

Deficit spending on infrastructure is extremely good for our economy. We learned that after WW2

 

Why? You are at liberty to produce your fully researched projections and thoroughly refute anything I've asserted with your own astute analysis. Then again, you might simply have an affinity for the anal probes required to travel via air.

 

I know, I agree. The rules of inflation we've since in innumerable economies throughout history don't apply to the US

This time, it's different.

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But you're the one proposing billions and billions of dollars (I pay taxes, so you're proposing taking from me to fund this) for this project. Justify it. With numbers. That's how it works in the real world

 

Cmon. You may be broke, I may be broke. However the nation collectively is not.

Those who are blind, run into brick walls.

Again, should be scrap the Interstate Highway System?

 

Relax. You're just broke because you're a visionary lol

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A broke visionary. How often do we see that one?

 

Global inflation is currently tame and the US inflation is the lowest it has been in history over the last 5 years. The Fed is propping us up currently from DEFLATION. Your point was?

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A chunk of the gas tax you pay already subsidizes public transportation. Despite warnings that it needs to be increased to maintain our current roads, conservatives like you seem content with letting all our infrastructure fail or replacing it entirely with more expensive, privatized roads.

Plus, like I said before.. the Fed can just spend money without your consent or tax revenue. Deficit spending is what we should be doing right now anyway. Infrastructure is the best thing to spend it on because it actually benefits our future society (unlike corporate bailouts).

 

Yet more assumptive foolishness. Where have I proposed spending a dime?

I pay taxes no different than you. Paying taxes is not taking anything from you since you have no expectation to not pay them, if you have an expectation that you should not have to pay taxes, you are living in the wrong country.

Oh, and in the real world, numbers are not the only way things work.

 

Current subsidies don't mean we do more subsidies, especially for something that some random "accountant" has envisioned (despite not having any data to back it up )

 

Yet more assumptive idiocy, I'm not now nor have ever been broke directly as a result of my vision and the fact that I don't assume.

 

You don't pay taxes, you're a broke visionary.

BTW, a visionary such as yourself would have the foresight/vision to realize that being broke isn't going to get anything done in terms of accomplishing visions.

 

I'm not the only one in this country advocating HSR. Get real.

 

Yet another invalid assumption.