Sometimes You Ge Lucky!

I have talked about the inherent nuttiness of Obama's High Speed Rail Project in the past. Here is a brief review of why it was all wrong.

1) We do not have cities close to each other like they do in Europe. The only corridor that might make sense is Boston to Washington, but there are so many engineering and political problems that it will never get built.
2) The cost/benefit analyses of every route are deeply flawed. The Los Angeles to San Francisco would most likely cost DOUBLE the present estimate and to break even it would require everyone now flying to take the train. All BS of the first order.
3) The government would be in charge of running the trains, and you have seen how well, and how profitably, AMTRAK runs the existing railroads.

In an utterly bizarre act, Obama has said he wants 80% of all Americans to have access to high speed rail. He must have absolutely no idea of how the population of the U.S. is located. And while he wants to spend BILLIONS on high speed rail, he won't spend any money on the Interstate Highway system which people really use, and like, and is falling apart.

You look at his proposals and all you can do is shake your head, and agree with Mitt that Obama really does not know how the country works.

So here is the good news. Congress, in a fit of pique, a return to sanity, in a budget cutting deal (take your choice) has defunded High Speed Rail. For what ever reason, three cheers for Congress!

Now here is the even better news. A British company is running very comfortable, well equipped BUSES on point to point routes. The company is called Stagecoach Group and the operating companies are called Megabus and Coach USA. For example, they run direct routes from Chicago to seven other mid-Western cities. They also have "hubs" in New York, Philadelphia and Washington. And they are expanding throughout the U.S. as fast as they can get buses and train new employees.

You buy your ticket online and board the bus from a curbside location marked only by a modest sign. And every bus has wifi service. Further, the cost is about $.08 a mile compared with about $.38 a mile for AMTRAK.

And here is the best part. They are doing it all without a single cent of government subsidy!

I can only wish that Obama would get his butt out of Air Force One and see how real Americans who are not millionaires actually live and work.