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New High-Speed Rail Projects Put People to Work
Today in Tampa, Fla., President Obama is announcing $8 billion in high-speed rail grants that will save or create tens of thousands of jobs in areas like track-laying, manufacturing, planning and engineering.
Edward Wytkind, president of the AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department (TTD), says the commitment to develop high-speed rail “couldn’t come at a better time.”
Investing in America’s passenger transportation systems and infrastructure not only builds a lasting contribution to future generations of travelers, it puts people to work at a time when so many Americans are jobless.
In his State of the Union message last night, Obama pointed to rebuilding the nation’s transportation infrastructure as a vital component of a blueprint to create jobs and boost the overall economy.
We can put Americans to work today building the infrastructure of tomorrow. From the first railroads to the Interstate Highway System, our nation has always been built to compete. There’s no reason Europe or China should have the fastest trains or the new factories that manufacture clean-energy products….There are projects like that all across this country that will create jobs and help move our nation’s goods, services and information.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act includes awards of $2.25 billion for California, $1.25 billion for Florida and $2.6 billion for 24 projects in the Midwest, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. A total of 31 states and the District of Columbia will receive high-speed rail grants, including money for planning and development for future rail lines. Those projects, says Wytkind,
will not only create transportation and construction jobs, but it will also boost American manufacturing jobs if our government vigorously enforces domestic content requirements. This new investment in passenger rail presents a historic opportunity for U.S. manufacturing to seize and flourish.
He also urged lawmakers on Capitol Hill to craft and pass a jobs bill that invests in aviation, mass transit, highway, and passenger and freight rail, maritime and port infrastructure.
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4 Comments
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Well DUH! This country is governed by fools that are intent on making this a 3rd world country as they insist on half assed measures. All those evil socialized countries (and communist China) either have existing high speed trains for 20 years (or as China are spending 5 times what we are) and viable, fuel and environmental efficient commuter systems between small towns. The dumbass’s have been whining about Amtrak subsidies for years while ignoring the support trucks and airlines get from road construction and maintenance and the publicly funded FAA and airports!
Well, we’ve all heard a lot of proposals to create work and improve our infrastructure. Now, “just do it.”
signed- still waiting
High speed rail only is viable in the Northeast. Everywhere else, regular old rail is fine – stop underfunding it. What we must do is rework the water and sewer projects in every major city. Clean water will be the world’s most precious commodity soon, if it is not already. In Florida, we have got to save the Everglades, save the reefs, recycle water and develop desalinization, not find a faster way to get to places like Tampa and Orlando, which no one wants to take a train to, no matter how fast. For one thing, there is no reliable transportation there once you arrive, so you have to rent a car anyway in these spread out southern towns. Shoring up public transportation within these towns makes a lot more sense, because it fills a need. High speed rail is being touted because it is more “shovel ready”, because the crooked scam artists in the companies involved have been positioning themselves to make a killing by selling the public this pig in a poke for some time. Obama is pushing it not because it is needed, but because it can move ahead quickly and it will seem like he is doing something to create jobs, while enriching companies that he hopes will give him money for the next election. The jobs for Americans will be temporary until the system is running for the 6 months that it will take for them to fail because no one is going to use them. In Europe, its quicker to take a fast speed train from Paris to Frankfurt than to fly. Chicago to New York is another story.
The only good jobs created will have to go to the European engineers and technicians experienced in this field. Billions — Billions more dollars printed and wasted on another capitalist scheme while our bridges are collapsing and our levees caving in and people drown.
Last year we started limited train service in New Mexico. People can now ride the train to work from some of the rural areas. Jobs were also created by providing shuttles to and from the train stations to job sites and attractions. I love riding the trains when I am back east! They are inexpensive and reliable. As a bonus, we are stopping some of the air pollution by reducing the number of cars on our highways. I hope we expand our train service as not everyone can afford to fly or drive.