Posted on 07/22/2010 12:31:24 PM PDT by Willie Green
Want to create billions of dollars in new business and thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, of new jobs? Build high-speed rail in your region.
Since President Obama announced earlier this year that the federal government was investing $8 billion in high-speed rail projects across the country, I have seen people asking repeatedly, "Is this really a good investment?" Or just claiming outright that it is not. If implemented badly, or only in disconnected pieces, high-speed rail could flop. But, if implemented as proposed, high-speed rail is a great investment, which is why so many people (especially experts in this field) are so enthusiastic about it. A recent report out by the U.S. Conference of Mayors confirms this claim and gives right to that enthusiasm.
The report, The Economic Impacts of High-Speed Rail on Cities and their Metropolitan Regions, which examined four hub cities -- Los Angeles, Chicago, Orlando and Albany, N.Y. -- found that $19 billion in new business and 150,000 jobs would be created from high-speed rail projects in those regions.
Increasing tourism, giving businesses a wider pool of workers to choose from, and helping with the growth and development of technology clusters, these high-speed rail networks would create more benefits than costs.
"It is a game changer with how people envision the city; people see the city in new ways," Steve Fitzroy, director of operations for the Economic Development Research Group, the organization which conducted the study, told the New York Times.
Albany, for example, which is not that well-connected to New York City currently, would be "pulled into New York City's economic core." Albany would gain $2.5 billion in new business and 21,000 jobs if a proposed high-speed rail network connecting it with NYC, Syracuse, and Montreal gets implemented, according to the report.
In Florida, a high-speed rail network connecting Orlando, Tampa, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach and other areas in that region, would generate $2.9 billion per year in new business, $1.7 billion more per year in gross regional product, and an additional 27,500 jobs, the report found.
The results are similar in California, the Midwest, and other regions looking at high-speed rail. And they are comparable to results already seen in Europe and Asia after such networks were put into place there.
If high-speed rail keeps chugging along in the U.S., it looks like it will help our economy recover and grow considerably.
You are from Michigan.
Do you remember last year when they proposed high speed rail to Detroit?
Everyone I knew (in West Michigan) said two things:
1- Who the hell wants to go to Detroit?
2- If we had to go there, why would we want a faster trip?
If the big cities will get lots of money from high speed rail, let them build it.
On the plus side, anything that makes it easier to get there also makes it easier to leave.
I’m not aware of any passenger train system that has ever survived without a governmental subsidy of some sort. Politicians love these boondoggles because they produce tangible results to show the boob what a wonderful fellow the politician is.
They can’t even fund dedicated service from Ann Arbor to Detroit on existing rails. What the hell am I talking about, they can’t even fund a demonstration of the damn thing.
SEMCOG delays Ann Arbor-Detroit commuter rail service
http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20100427/FREE/100429866#
The only $s they will bring is in government subsidies in the form of our tax dollars. There will never be a realized profit from this.
1- Who the hell wants to go to Detroit?
2- If we had to go there, why would we want a faster trip?
Yeah, but look how fast you can get OUT of Detroit.
On the other hand, we shouldn't build high-speed rail--do you know how many birds those trains will kill?
I love trains, too!
Trainlover bump!
Yeah, let’s subsidize MASS TRANSIT while simultaneously legislating that MASS TRANSIT’S competition, the motor vehicle, become even cheaper to use through CAFE, that should work GREAT!
Horse Shit Willie. The only money Rail, high speed or other wise, will bring in is tax payer’s money, no wealth will be created.
H*ll - now I’m in the mood!
Listen to the sound track on this beauty!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4P0wgjpoQDw&feature=related
Thanks!!!
Listen to the sound track on this beauty!
She sure has a beautiful set of pipes on her!!!
These morons really don’t understand. Building something that has less value than the dollars required for construction is a net loss. That shouldn’t be difficult to understand, but liberals refuse to think.
And here in Houston, Willie's home town, the toy train has had over 100 wrecks, caused the failure of hundreds of businesses, and robs the poorest via sales taxes to deliver a useless service.
On the radio today they announced that if Metro couldn't land $900 million in stolen federal tax dollars to expand the toy train system, they were going to raise bus fares.
Another hosing of the poor to support a socialist wet dream.
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