| Dear Letters Editor: In reply to the Brailers "High speed rail is still worthwhile for AV" (10/11) 1. 120,000 + 130,000 = 250,000 is a "substantial population" relative to what? 2. "add only a few minutes" is a lot of minutes when you consider the time for passengers and baggage to be unloaded and loaded. 4. AmTrak just requested another federal subsidy of $600 million and gets an additional $50 million a year from California. If its passengers had to pay the full cost of their tickets, few would. There are private enterprise alternatives to all subsidies, including roads, water, waste and airports. The juducial system can be funded by contract enforcement fees. Subsidies are immoral transferrs of wealth that no one should tolerate. Furthermore, subsidies distort the marketplace, making it impossible to compare the true cost of many products and services from telecommunications to transportation. Without actual costs we make dumb decisions and allocate resources poorly. 5. Unlike airplane routes, train routes are fixed and there is only one. If it breaks all trains stop. Airplane size and numbers can be increased or decreased to accommodate demand. 6. If a HSR is a good idea, private enterprise will do it without extorting money from taxpayers. Government funding is requested only for bad ideas. Sincerely, Bill Holmes, Vice Chair Antelope Valley Libertarian Party P.O. Box 3202 Quartz Hill, California 93586 wtholmes@avlp.org, 661-943-7473 voice/fax http://avlp.org |
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