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Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Comments

Donald Pay

I generally agree with you on trains. LaHood likes to say these are step-by-step projects to get to high speed rail, but that's just bunkum. These are medium speed trains. I have no problem building one real high speed pilot project to see if it can run without too much of a subsidy.

duggersd

Donald, perhaps you could explain a little. These are medium speed trains? The government is calling them high speed trains. Give me an concept of what your concept is. A non-stop train from NYC to LA? Or one that stops in CHI? And as for a pilot project, from where to where? Rail is expensive as it is. And how much is too much of a subsidy? And if it is "too much of a subsidy", what happens? Does the government abandon it? I am trying to imagine the rail company willing to make that kind of a gamble.

Ken Blanchard

Donald: we agree? where's the fun in that? I confess that I don't see the point of a demonstration project for high speed rail. We already know more than we want to know. The fact that government will not let go of this crazy idea is evidence for my general thesis about government financed venture capitalism.

By contrast, I think demonstration projects for wind and solar power make sense. The big investments we have made make no sense at all.

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