Comment Nice concept, ugly execution to follow (Score 0) 1385
This proposed system is not a new creation. It consists of funding for old proposals all over the country. The proposals have not been funded by their respective states for a very good reason: they are massively expensive to build and unlikely to operate at a profit. My own state (Georgia) is a good example. Several rail projects connecting Atlanta with other cities come up in the legislature every year, and some have already had federal funding for much of the development costs. Operating costs and maintenance, however, would be the responsibility partly of the state and partly of the cities and counties through which the rail passes. Year after year, no politician in his right mind will volunteer his district to fund rail operations, so it never even comes up for a vote.
The same politicians may not be able to resist the kind of money Obama is offering up this time. The urge to have a hand in spending that federal money will outweigh the fear of backlash several years down the road when local taxpayers are burdened with the ongoing costs.
In fact, in Atlanta we just had the spectacle of the state trying to claim some unused track to make it possible to connect commuter rail with Amtrak. However, that track is part of an unfunded proposed beltline of light rail around Atlanta. So the state backed off in favor of a suggestion to add more rail to an existing freight line through the heart of the city, even though doing so would require upwards of a billion dollars in property condemnations. Would they even contemplate that if there were not federal funding on offer? Certainly not--the city is nearly bankrupt.
