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Infrastructure???? Well.... What did I say....?
Author: BOB2
Date: 05-22-2019 - 10:02
Max,
When it comes to any kind of transportation policy, the national government, in Washington D.C. has bee useless for the last 40 years, essentially since the end of the interstate construction. It is not a result of any recent changes. The FRA's handling of the HSR funds was, and continues to be, a complete disaster. Amtrak has never had adequate funding, nor any real "plan" to provide "first world" rail passenger services.
We had a chance to pass a significant transportation bill under Jim Oberstar, back in 2009, but it was effectively blocked by Barbara Boxer, because she hadn't figured out where the "tits" where, to hook up the campaign fund "milking machine". So the problem is "bi-partisan", not just the fault of one party.
The State and Local agencies are responsible for what decent services we have in CA, Oregon, and Washington, and these have been neglected over the past ten years in CA, to pour money into the "sinkhole" at the CHSRA runaway money train. Meanwhile, the LA-San Diego rail line (2nd busiest rail line in the US and just 200 km apart) is still a largely single track railroad, operating relatively slow and very limited IC service levels, while paralleling the busiest, slowest, and most congested intercity freeway corridor in the US.
The fact is that there is no real leadership of any kind on transportation issues in Washington, from either party, neither from the White House, nor Congress for years, and I expect nothing much to change. And, this latest hullaballoo over the "infrastructure" initiative is just another cruel hoax on the American people, and just another "photo op" for posing politicians, which will likely produce nothing of any consequence, anytime soon.
Was that less than three weeks ago (5/6/2019) that I made this prediction...? It seems like an eternity, doesn't it....?
When it comes to any kind of transportation policy, the national government, in Washington D.C. has bee useless for the last 40 years, essentially since the end of the interstate construction. It is not a result of any recent changes. The FRA's handling of the HSR funds was, and continues to be, a complete disaster. Amtrak has never had adequate funding, nor any real "plan" to provide "first world" rail passenger services.
We had a chance to pass a significant transportation bill under Jim Oberstar, back in 2009, but it was effectively blocked by Barbara Boxer, because she hadn't figured out where the "tits" where, to hook up the campaign fund "milking machine". So the problem is "bi-partisan", not just the fault of one party.
The State and Local agencies are responsible for what decent services we have in CA, Oregon, and Washington, and these have been neglected over the past ten years in CA, to pour money into the "sinkhole" at the CHSRA runaway money train. Meanwhile, the LA-San Diego rail line (2nd busiest rail line in the US and just 200 km apart) is still a largely single track railroad, operating relatively slow and very limited IC service levels, while paralleling the busiest, slowest, and most congested intercity freeway corridor in the US.
The fact is that there is no real leadership of any kind on transportation issues in Washington, from either party, neither from the White House, nor Congress for years, and I expect nothing much to change. And, this latest hullaballoo over the "infrastructure" initiative is just another cruel hoax on the American people, and just another "photo op" for posing politicians, which will likely produce nothing of any consequence, anytime soon.
Was that less than three weeks ago (5/6/2019) that I made this prediction...? It seems like an eternity, doesn't it....?
| Subject | Written By | Date/Time (PST) |
|---|---|---|
 Infrastructure???? Well.... What did I say....? |
BOB2 | 05-22-2019 - 10:02 |
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Re: Infrastructure???? Well.... What did I say....?
|
synonymouse | 05-22-2019 - 10:08 |
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Re: Infrastructure???? Well.... What did I say....?
|
Ferd Berfel | 05-22-2019 - 10:08 |
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Re: Infrastructure???? Well.... What did I say....? Me and Mousy...twice a day. like a broke clock...
|
BOB2 | 05-22-2019 - 11:33 |
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Re: Infrastructure???? Well.... What did I say....? Me and Mousy...twice a day. like a broke clock...
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david vartanoff | 05-22-2019 - 12:27 |
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Re: Infrastructure???? Well.... What did I say....?
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Max Wyss | 05-22-2019 - 13:00 |