As a South Floridian, I was at first impressed with the idea of a bullet train network. But when you analyze the idea further, it is really totally IDIOTIC. I say that particularly because there is a desperate need for commuter rail (or monorail) transportation in Florida cities. Most Florida cities have virtually no commuter rail transportation whatsoever, and very few buses to boot.
Which is the wiser expenditure of train-building money? To build commuter-rail transport in cities that desperately need it and are currently traffic-clogged? Or to spend billions of dollars on some goofy, warp-speed Amtrak that is going to go from nowhere to nowhere?
It is also indicative of Obama's MASSIVE ARROGANCE that he should just plop down in Florida and, in his infiinite wisdom, decide that we should spend billions of dollars on this idiotic, make-work project, which primarily involves spending 10 JILLION dollars on real estate. Do you have any IDEA how much money must be spent simply to purchase all of that LAND? Not to mention billions in legal fees as people contest having to sell their land. DUH.
Here are a few of my objections to the bullet train project:
1. Before a single track can be laid, before any technology is implemented, the state must spend 5 jillion dollars buying real estate. To travel from Tampa to Orlando, you must buy a huge parcel of real estate. Then back down thru the Gold Coast, including astronomically expensive Palm Beach, to get down to Miami. And the ObaMorons think that can do that for a measly 8 BILLION??? They're out of their minds! The real estate costs alone will probably be well over 8 billion dollars. Not to mention the cost of tracks, trains, power grids, labor, designers, etc.
It'll probably be cheaper to get to Mars!!!
While much of this land is relatively cheap agricultural land, much of it would be astronomically expensive urban land, especially in downtown business sectors. Does buying land have any real economic stimulus value? I don't think so.
It is legendary that politicians and their cronies are ALWAYS the ones who wind up making a fortune when land is purchased for a new road or railroad. Politicians will buy up the cheap land near the train stops because that land will skyrocket in value.
It happens every time. Politicians are crooks.
2. Cost estimates for the bullet train seem to be massively understated. A mere billion for a bullet train from Orlando to Tampa? Laughable. The land and the legal fees will probably run 10 times that. What does that stimulate? Lawyers?
3. There is no guarantee that anybody will even USE the bullet trains. They hardly use Amtrak. Why will everybody suddenly use bullet trains?
Will we be spending billions of dollars for some warp-speed Amtrak that nobody is going to use?
Who needs it? For short trips between Tampa and Orlando and Miami, it's just as easy to drive or to take a puddle-jumper flight. The "green" savings of bullet trains will probably take 50 years to materialize. The amount of energy-waste to BUILD the bullet train will take 50 years to compensate for.
It might make more sense to pump those billions of dollars into research on electric cars: Developing new battery technology, implementing solar powered cars, implementing systems for marketing electric power for cars, pumping more money into research on hybrid engines, etc.
Idiotically, we spend almost zilch on automotive research. We need the equivalent of a space program to develop alternate-energy vehicles. America loves CARS, not TRAINS. Spend the money on improving automotive technology, not some pie-in-the-sky bullet trains that nobody except do-gooder liberals want.
Also, as mentioned, there is a DESPERATE NEED for commuter rail (or monorail) in Florida's cities. Most Florida cities have little or no mass transportation, and little or no rail transport. This is an area where trains WOULD actually be used!!! Not some stupid, totally unnecessary gamble, like bullet trains.
And how about spending money simply improving America's freight line track? Freight trains are EXTREMELY GREEN. They save an enormous amount of energy, and they are cost-effective. Having the government help-out by doing track-improvements for freight lines would be quite intelligent and would stimulate business and economic growth.
4. Trains are EXTREMELY VULNERABLE to terrorism. Just think back to the French Resistance. The favorite target was always the railways, because they are so difficult to defend.
You will now have a train zipping along at 250 MPH thru deserted countryside. What more could any terrorist ask for? All they need to is put a teeny little hand-grenade on one of the tracks, and BOOM. Devastating train wreck. Everybody on board the train would be killed. Going 250 MPH? Guaranteed no survivors.
Hey. Who came up with the idea for bullet trains? Osama Bin Laden?
To summarize, these are a few little problems of bullet trains. And that's just the start. And how is it that Obama, Oh Wonderous One, can simply plop down and give away a billion of our taxpayer dollars on something totally dubious and stupid?
My question: How is it that someone as intelligent as Obama can come forward with so many TOTALLY STUPID ideas? Amazing.
Draft 2: 2/3/10
