Correction: On Monday, Mullings accused Amtrak president, David Gunn, of "mal-, mis-, or non-feasance" in the operation of the national railway. Mr. Gunn was only appointed to his post on April 26, 2002 and is receiving high marks for uncovering the financial problems.
I should have checked his tenure.
Interpretation of fact is the currency of Mullings. An error in fact due to ignorance is unfortunate. An error in fact due to laziness is inexcusable.
I apologize to Mr. Gunn.
I wish I had a research staff - or ANY staff - to blame things on: Hey! You're on suspension. Get me a tuna on rye, then go home. No. Wait. Get me a tuna on rye, rotate my tires, THEN go home.
After I wrote that yesterday morning, I drove the Mullmobile to Reagan National Airport so I could take the subway into the District and meet a reporter for lunch downtown without suffering the angst of trying to park.
I had driven on taxpayer-funded streets, to park in a taxpayer-funded parking garage, at a taxpayer-funded airport, so that I could ride the taxpayer-funded subway system.
The Washington Area Metropolitan Transit Authority (the subway and bus system collectively known as Metro) last year covered a little over a third of the cost of operating the bus system, and slightly less than three-quarters of the subway system through actual fares paid by actual passengers.
The rest? Subsidies from the District and the surrounding jurisdictions.
I do not believe that any public transportation system in the nation is self-sufficient. No one even considers that as a possibility, much less a goal.
I suspect we have the system backwards. Given the costs involved in keeping the nation's commuter roads and bridges in repair, we might do better forcing drivers to purchase an annual "Rush Hour Road Use" sticker to pay for the roads and bridges, and allow commuters to ride buses and subways for free.
The airline industry isn't subsidized, but it isn't a very good business. United Airlines, which is not exactly "Bob's Flying Service," is looking to the Feds for a $1.2 Billion loan guarantee to cover its $2 Billion in losses over the past year.
Warren Buffett once said, "If you go back to the time of Kitty Hawk, net, the airline transport business in the United States has made no money."
Airports, runways, control towers, the FAA and - dare we say it - the Transportation Security Agency - are all funded by you-know-who.
The Interstate Highway System, which was begun in 1956 as the Defense Highway System, now measures 42,796 miles. Truckers and others are quick to point out that the costs of building and maintaining the system is borne by user fees, but a huge proportion of the user fees are collected at the gasoline pump which you pay whether you use an Interstate Highway or not.
Somebody pays for the Army Corps of Engineers to keep the nations waterways clear and navigable. I suspect it's me. And you.
So, public transportation might never have been meant to be a stand-alone money-making enterprise.
Now back to where we started: Amtrak.
Rather than assuming Amtrak will have to retreat to service only in the Northeast Corridor, we should think outside the tracks.
David Gunn should ask Congress to fund a study - a major study - to determine what would happen if the US decided that, as a matter of public policy, we chose to have rail travel return to being a major part of the public transportation mix.
Like the Interstate Highway System. Or the air transport system. Or the inland waterways system.
It might well turn out that the benefits are enormous. Think of how happy our pals over in the European Union would be if a significant number of cars came off the road, thus reducing greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere.
Ok. Bad example.
Such a study might well find that trains could be the preferred mode of transportation in the future.
So, lend them the $200 million. Fish gotta swim, birds gotta fly, trains gotta roll. Pay it. Then fire the accounting staff.
Brother, can you spare a dime?
On the Secret Decoder Ring page today: the press release announcing the appointment of David Gunn, the derivation of the title (and the last line), and other interesting things.
If you are working at a lobbying firm, a government affairs office, a coalition, or a PAC you should take a
look at this page to see how advertising in Mullings might serve your organization very well:
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