It's true freedom of movement. Freedom from oil changes. Freedom from tedious and nerve wracking commuting. Freedom from gasoline prices. Freedom from oil producing countries. Freedom from crippling environmental destruction.
It's freedom for everyone, not just freedom for those that can afford it, and even the wealthy would benefit from the ability to read, work, or socialize during their commute rather than sitting in traffic getting angrier and angrier.
I never said anything about Europe. I don't know where that came from. Air travel is expensive and doesn't serve the same purpose I am discussing. It too has become a tedious mess in recent years.
I also never said Amtrak was the answer or was train technology from the gold rush, but new modern technology implemented in a sound and progressive manner.
As for the tax burden argument it is ridiculous on three parts. First our tax base is lower than it has been since WWII. No one is being crushed by taxes. Our tax base is too low that is the problem.
Second, taxes are intended for this type of project. The project I described is why we have governments, too administer large projects for the greater good of everyone. The government, and by extension our taxes, are supposed to take issues such as transportation, defense, police and fire protection, and create an efficient system that works for everyone.
Third, you are forgetting that if there were a reliable system of transport connecting the country you would save an enormous amount of money on a personal vehicle and air travel. It obviously would vary greatly from person to person but I believe it would end up saving most people money in the long run.
And if you are so gun-ho to lower taxes then why is it OK for the Federal Government to keep funding the highway system for your cars? Your freedom of movement is already built by "burdensome" taxes.
Finally, I know all about freedom. I have sworn an oath to the Constitution of the United States to uphold that freedom. I spent a year of my life in the streets of Baghdad avoiding bullets, grenades, and bombs to defend that freedom. I watched my comrades-in-arms die for that freedom. I have spent countless hours preparing hundreds of young men and women for the arduous task of leaving their family and friends to travel halfway around the world and defend our freedoms. And in all likely hood I will be heading to Afghanistan in the next few years to again put my life on the line for your freedom.
I know about freedom and I prefer your arguments stick to the facts rather than assassinate my character which, besides being in poor taste, does nothing to prove your point.
Thread de-rail (get it).
I never meant to attack your character, and indeed removed language from my original post that I thought might be construed that way. But, in any event, I apologize if I did. And, thank you, sincerely, for your service.
BUT, while I commend your service, it doesn't give you a free pass to make ridiculous arguments. Your understanding of the term "freedom" I think is still way off base, or at least inconsistent. In your first few paragraphs you equate freedom with movement, and while that may be a type of freedom, it is certainly not what most people would consider when they think of "Freedom." Freedom is choice over how to live one's life (like in your third paragraph), not whether to take a train or a bus.
Cars, buses, and planes offer the freedom of movement you seek but at less expense to EVERYONE. Trains simply aren't a good solution. They are incredibly inflexible. A huge portion of the cost is sunk on creating an unmovable, unchangeable infrastructure and not on the actual vehicle to get one from place A to B. I don't see what a train offers you that a plane, car, or bus doesn't. You say cost, but that is patently untrue unless the cost is subsidized by the taxpayer. The Acela is the only high-speed rail in this country and it costs more to take the Acela from DC to NY than to fly. Granted, if the taxpayers picked up the tab, it wouldn't, but the same can be said of airplanes. If I paid for you to fly from DC to Orlando then flying would be cheaper, for you, but that doesn't mean it was free.
It's not "freedom" for everyone. It's "free"dom for the select few who utilize the train service. For the rest of the country, it is an expense for something they neither need nor want. Why should a person from Oklahoma (or pick any state) care for or pay for HSR from Orlando to Tampa. If the people of Florida think it is a worthwhile investment, then they should pay for it. Oh wait, they don't, and have said so many, many times.
Pointing to the FHWA is unavailing to me because guess what, I don't support that either. Just because we are doing something that is wrong right now, doesn't mean we should do something that is even more wrong. That's just plain stupid.
As to your first paragraph - freedom of movement -- no its not. The trains in New York were just as stuck in the Blizzard as the planes and cars--in fact, I think more so. And, as someone who lives in DC and takes the metro everyday to commute, I promise you no-one here considers it to be freedom from a nerve-wracking commute. Metro frays more nerves around here than anything else, and that is saying a lot. At least once a week metro makes me 30 minutes late to work. It's not uncommon to be over an hour late. It's also not faster even when it works perfectly. Nor is it cheaper anymore.
You say "if there were a reliable system connecting the cities" as if planes and buses and cars don't exist. There IS a reliable system connecting US cities. Flying is incredibly reliable. Flying is also CHEAPER. It is also SAFER. Yes, the TSA is a pain, but if trains were our primary transportation, then it would be the terrorist target (like the Spain bombing or Tube attacks) and it wouldn't be long before taking a train is the same pain that flying is.
Trains simply aren't the panacea you think they are, and, they operate at a huge loss that has to be subsidized by those that don't use the service. The only legitimate point you made is that the transportations that use fossil fuels have imperiled us by making us dependent on foreign oil. While we do need to do something about that, I hardly think throwing away hundreds of billions of dollars on HSR is really going to very far in solving that dilemma.
If your primary goal is socio-economic equality, then lets give free bus rides (or plane rides) to everyone. That still has nothing to do with why we should waste any money on HSR.
OH, and like Walt, I love trains and monorails. Have since I was kid. I just don't believe in wasting taxpayer money. The first, and still best in my mind, reliable monorail in the country was built entirely of private funds, by Disney.
, and not an hourly worker) that works at Busch Gardens, that they will offer free transportation from the train station to the park. If this is really true, I will be getting an annual pass for BG again. If I want to do something other than BG, then I will have to consider time and cost at that time. 
