Patriots' Ink

Governor Scott is to be commended for making the tough decision of telling the Federal Government we don't need the strings attached to their "loan" for the high speed rail nor the probable taxpayer-subsidized operation forever. So often our politicians make decisions based on what looks good on paper. However, practical application has unintended consequences.

Prior to President Eisenhower's introduction of our interstate system, authorized officially in 1956, we had a passenger train system, privately owned and operated. After the interstate highway system became reality and citizens realized they could drive easily to various areas, people quit using passenger trains as their preferred mode of transportation for relatively short trips.

Passenger train ridership had been slipping since the early 1900's, as the onset of automobiles slowly began to be popular and a huge convenience to the car owners. The Great Depression merely added to the problem. The interstate highway system appears to be the nail in the coffin for passenger trains. After only 15 years, the passenger train system (the Atlantic Coastline and the Seaboard Railroad systems on the east coast) was apparently determined to be "too big to fail" and in 1971, Amtrak was born.

Bear in mind, no one bailed out the businesses along the then and currently existing highways (US 1 and 301) traversing the east coast prior to I-95's completion. Taxpayers to this day continue to subsidize this huge boondoggle called Amtrak. Only the Northeast Corridor lines seem to be financially viable.

Rather than just go by ideological, conservative thought on this, I decided to do some research on this history, since I was a child when the interstates first began. It was possible my memory and conservative thought could just be clouding my judgment.

As I researched the history of railroads and Amtrak, I came upon an interesting speech given in 2001 entitled "The Myth of Passenger Train Profitability, A speech by Amtrak Reform Council member James Coston in Philadelphia December 1, 2001." I defer to his expertise as a railroad enthusiast. His resume is as follows:

"James E. Coston is the managing partner of the Chicago law firm Coston & Lichtman where he specializes in equipment financing. He is a member of the Chicago and Illinois State Bar Associations and sits on the Equipment Leasing Subcommittee of the American Bar Association. Parallel to his legal profession, he co-founded Chicago's Twentieth Century Railroad Club and for 15 years managed its highly successful program of weekend excursion trains chartered from Amtrak. His guest editorials on rail service have appeared in, among others, the Chicago Tribune, Washington Post and USA Today. Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle appointed him to the Amtrak Reform Council."

You can find the entire speech by googling the title of the speech and being directed to www.trainweb.org. I will merely note some of the highlights of his speech. …"I'm sure the nice people here would like to hear me tell some stories of what it was like to run those trains, but that's not why I'm here. More than a decade ago I made an important decision about my life. I decided to switch from running passenger trains as a personal frolic to getting our government to run passenger trains as a public obligation. This morning, I'd like to bring you up to date on what we have to do to make that happen."…

He went on to his conclusion that no mode of transportation is nor ever will be profitable, including our highway system, aviation and passenger cars. Although the premise may be true, the difference in my purchasing a vehicle as a matter of convenience and then asking taxpayers to fund that same vehicle, since owning it is not profitable, is absurd. Were I running a business and needed a vehicle to do so, I would make every attempt to make a profit, making it a sound business expense. Toll roads, built by private enterprise, never seem to be a losing proposition, but public highways must rely on taxpayer funds, and are mandated by our Constitution regarding postal roads. Businesses which lose money don't stay in business very long.

However, those who advocate taxpayer funds to "bail out" failing businesses are throwing good money after bad. And with the "never-ending" monies of the federal government available to fund these failing businesses, the financial hole being dug is also never-ending. The fact that Mr. Coston sees rail transportation as a "government obligation" is a symptom of the fiscal malaise we suffer today. Amtrak is not the only subsidized financial failure our federal government operates.

detailing more information and noting the huge financial losses of Amtrak. "Amtrak posted a cash loss of $405 million in the first eight months of this year and has consumed more than $24 billion in subsidies — both operating and capital — since its inception in 1971." The above figures are as of December, 2001. Unfortunately, I've been unable to find newer figures , even from the General Accounting Office or Pew Research statistics.

It is possible to get figures showing the loss per passenger, but the number of said passengers isn't available as far as I've been able to find. What comes to mind and why I thank Governor Scott for his foresight and budgetary expertise for which he was elected is the old saying, "If you don't learn from history, you are doomed to repeat it." Thank you, Governor Scott for being able to read what so many politicians either cannot, will not, or refuse to understand.

The Dreded Scott Decision