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Stumping in Iowa: Mitt Romney says he’d end Amtrak
The budget quoted in the article is the 2 year projected budget, not just 2012.
In 2012 Amtrak will receive $1.4 billion in funding. That is relatively sizeable chunk of the the transportation departments $17.8 billion funding.
@JimNorton, what constitutes “generous taxpayer funding” for the airlines? How does it measure to Amtraks?
I am really not sure what prospective voters Mitt is courting here; nobody really cares about zeroing out Amtrak except the motor bus lobby, and Iowa really doesn’t have much passenger service, either rail, bus or local air. Mitt really had a pretty good record in Massachusetts as far as developing and improving the MBTA. I guess he figures he can sell this idea to the haystack brigade.
Ha ha wow…
We don’t need him for next president then. Bad News for Amtrak for sure.
How about the funds allocated to highways and airports? No comparison…
This is just shortsighted politicking. A balanced transportation policy just has to include Amtrak or some form of national passenger rail network. Zeroing out Amtrak’s budget would be just as big a waste of taxpayer dollars as was throwing tons of money into so-called HSR without an organized national vision of what this should be.
Amtrak has grown and is doing well…they are carrying more and more people and we need this form of transportation…this is a BIG BIG country with thousands of miles of track. I have used Amtrak many times on travel from coast to coast and in tthe NorthWest and NorthEast…When will things change with our country and our people…keep our Amtrak…
No doubt Mr. Romney will say that these are unpopular and that nobody wants them. It’s too bad they’ll eliminate a lot of jobs!
Sounds like a statement someone who doesn’t know the subject at all, would make. No one can have an in depth knowledge about everything, but this kind of un-informed statement shows a lack of good judgment in my opinion.
Elly
Another reason he will never be President.
All this shows is that he isn’t really serious about cutting the deficit. This is going after small change while ignoring the big things.
The private airlines, which carry the vast majority of paying traveling passengers, receive generous taxpayer funding. Why does this always escape the issue of Amtrak funding?
If airlines had to bear all of the costs of actually operating an airline, a Houston- Dallas coach ticket would be $500.00 or even higher. Everyone wants to avoid the ugly truth. Amtrak should be given more money, not less, and put a real railroader in charge.
I think Romney is missing the boat on one of the most cost effective and green means of transportation we have. We don’t need more subsidized highways and trucks at taxpayers expense. We need hassle free transportation (unlike the subsidized airlines and out of control TSA). I used to enjoy flying. Not anymore! It is an inconvenient pain in the neck.
I’ll take a relaxing trip on the empire builder over the hassle of multiple airline connections anytime. This is one reason why I don’t feel I can vote for Romney and I don’t think the republicans have a viable candidate to defeat Obama.
No transportation method should get subsidies. Amtrak would be a good start.
Gov. Romney says what he has to say to get the vote of the right wing of the Republican Party. Then,as Pres. Nixon observed, the candidate wins the nomination, and then the candidate gets back to the center to win the election. Say anything to win the nomination!
If Romney is so set on getting rid of Amtrak, then maybe he should also to away with the FAA, make airlines responsible for standing on their own two feet by providing and paying for airport terminals, runways, air traffic controllers, and the like. And while we’re at it, let’s do away with the federal funding on highways and make all people and companies that use the highways pay for them. I know this sounds drastic, but I am tired of tired, old Republicans beating up on Amtrak for the U.S. government having to fund the railroad when Republicans seem not to have a problem with the government subsidizing the airline, trucking, and automobile industries. They’re like a broken disco record that no one wants to ever hear again.
It is amazing that Romney gets press for miniscule cuts that are a drop of water in a bucket. Cutting AMTRAK during a period of steadily increasing ridership while ignoring the giant tapeworm gobbling up money for aviation and roads is idiocy in its finest form. The hardworking employees had better start getting ready to hit the unemployment lines. Paying unemployment for these people would be more distasteful than keeping them on the job in a going enterprise.
O K as long as the airline passenger has to pay his full cost. That includes the cost of runnung the airline AND the cost of running the airport,and the cost of running the air traffic control system. Included in those cost would be payments to local governments equal to what other non-government enterprises would have to pay.