60/60 #36
$2.6 Billion - amount of funding the Bush administration awarded to Amtrak, or 0.0006% of the Federal budget. Number of dedicated high speed rail lines in America? Zero. 6 Billion passenger miles traveled and only 33% of Americans have ever ridden Amtrak.
$41 Billion - amoung of funding the French government spends on the national rail service, or 3.15% of the total French budget. Number of dedicated high speed lines = 10. 61 Billion passenger miles traveled, 83 % of French people have taken a train.
I present this along with #35 (the PBS/Big Bird/NPR stats) to ask a fundamental question that distinguishes the candidates. Both admit that the deficit is a problem over the long term. Neither candidate has laid out a detailed plan to address the issue. But in general, Romney thinks Big Bird & trains are the problem, and more spending on fighter planes is what we need. Defense spending is our biggest single discretionary line item BY FAR, and Romney wants to increase it. Obama wants to decrease it. In fact, he signed a reduction in defense spending into law in his first month in office. What do you think? You know we've got a budget problem, you look at this pie chart and tell me what you'd cut? Just cutting that 15% with the "X" by it would allow us to invest more in wacky things like schools, roads, and rail.
I present this along with #35 (the PBS/Big Bird/NPR stats) to ask a fundamental question that distinguishes the candidates. Both admit that the deficit is a problem over the long term. Neither candidate has laid out a detailed plan to address the issue. But in general, Romney thinks Big Bird & trains are the problem, and more spending on fighter planes is what we need. Defense spending is our biggest single discretionary line item BY FAR, and Romney wants to increase it. Obama wants to decrease it. In fact, he signed a reduction in defense spending into law in his first month in office. What do you think? You know we've got a budget problem, you look at this pie chart and tell me what you'd cut? Just cutting that 15% with the "X" by it would allow us to invest more in wacky things like schools, roads, and rail.
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