From: kh@pnnnnx.kom   
      
   Larry Sheldon   wrote:   
      
   >The closest I can find is "The welfare queens riding in Amtrak luxury at   
   >the benefit of the American taxpayers are mostly not the poor.   
   >Nevertheless, you and I and future generations are subsidizing every   
   >ticket purchased by those who can afford to pay the fare required to   
   >make Amtrak profitable."   
      
   The problem is the assumption that Amtrak should be profitable,   
   without subsidy.   
      
   All major forms of transportation are subsidized, and always have   
   been, in all the rich countries.  Amtrak cannot compete without   
   subsidy against other modes that are heavily subsidized.   
      
   Motor vehicles are heavily subsidized by all those free public roads.   
      
   The Interstate highway system doesn't make a profit, either.  Why   
   doesn't Breitbart complain about that?  Why doesn't he call everybody   
   who drives on public roads a welfare queen?   
      
   You can argue that no transportation should be subsidized; that's a   
   legitimate argument.  But that's not what Breitbart said.  He wants   
   the modes he likes to be subsidized, and others not to be.  And he   
   doesn't even admit that.  He hides it by implying that only Amtrak is   
   subsidized, and others are not.  If you called him on it, he'd   
   probably say that explicitly, by claiming that the fuel taxes are not   
   taxes, and free public services (roads) are not subsidies.  That's   
   hooey.  Calling a thing by a different name does not change the thing.   
      
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