Why Elon Musk Is Right: The Case Against Subsidizing Amtrak \ stacker news ~Politics_And

Founded 54 years ago, Amtrak set out on a bold adventure to see if passenger trains could be profitable. Fast forward to today, this experiment has been unsuccessful. Politicians have often crafted routes to win votes rather than attract riders. As a result, Amtrak has been squandering taxpayer money since its start in 1971.

Take, for instance, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021. It allocated a monumental $66 billion to bolster passenger rail. Yet, even with this backing, Amtrak’s losses soared from $1.12 billion in FY2019 to $2.12 billion in FY2024. This financial drain isn’t new; America’s passenger trains have lost money for 79 years. ...

Eliminating subsidies would not spell the end for passenger trains. Brightline Florida—a privately-owned train service—began operations in 2023. Under a zero-subsidy model, it might consider buying Amtrak. For Brightline, this move could reduce overhead and enhance efficiency. For example, it could sell certain routes to Rocky Mountaineer or Union Pacific. There is also the possibility of auctioning off surplus assets to the public. In the end, Brightline would only preserve the most sustainable routes.

Since Congress can’t predict which routes will be profitable, it only needs to cut subsidies to $0. The President should also take a firm stand by vetoing any budget that subsidizes Amtrak. Finally, Congress should repeal the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021. This act squandered $66 billion in capital and operating subsidies for passenger rail.

Once again we prove Hayek was right again in his acceptance speech. The knowledge is not theirs to be able to be profitable (in other words, efficient), politicians, economists and individuals in power, just cannot choose the winners and losers because they focus other areas and have no skin in the game. Other reasons for politicians were pointed out in #976531 . It is a wonder that Amtrak is still in business, well, can we call it business? They are still in operation, though, because of the very high yearly subsidies. Perhaps, like all economic endeavors, we should separate the state from the economy. FTS

20 sats \ 3 replies \ @TNStacker 11 May

Elon is not "right." He does have effective, efficient ways and driving to what works in many cases

0 sats \ 2 replies \ @Rothbardian_fanatic OP 11 May

You are correct. There are many pathways to get to the ”right” answer. I think that he is not afraid to fail, go back and choose another branch of the pathway to the desired ends. Looking at a failure as a learning opportunity is something that not a lot of people can do. When does he get things ”right”?

0 sats \ 1 reply \ @TNStacker 19h

The ability to take failure as a learning opportunity is the basic difference-maker for success. The other is the ability to get back up when knocked down. It blows my mind and freaks me out that society neglects this. It is also evident in the world we see.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Rothbardian_fanatic OP 10h

That is because THEY don’t want the rest of us to know how to be successful and take their thunder! THEY are trying to keep the goodies for themselves by never letting out the secrets to success. Then again, even when the said secrets are published, not many pay attention to them.