Thomas Sowell's column this week tells us all we need to know about the government's unrealistic plans for "high-speed rail." Here are some clips:
Nothing more clearly illustrates the utter irresponsibility of President Obama than his advocacy of "high-speed rail." The man is not stupid. He knows how to use words that will sound wonderful to people who do not bother to stop and think.
High-speed rail may be feasible in parts of Europe or Japan, where the population density is much higher than in the United States. But, without enough people packed into a given space, there will never be enough riders to repay the high cost of building and maintaining a high-speed rail system.
However little Obama knows or cares about economics, he knows a lot about politics -- and especially political rhetoric. "High-speed rail" is simply another set of lofty words to justify continued expansion of government spending.
To talk glibly about spending more money on "high-speed rail" when the national debt has just passed a milestone, by exceeding the total value of our annual output, for the first time in more than half a century, is world-class chutzpa.
To read the entire column, go here.
