High-speed rail in California was a disaster, but there’s a better way

Re:High-speed rail in California was a disaster, but there’s... by ballenarosada on Wednesday February 13, 2019 @11:21PM (#19159588)

Taking on debt to finance a public good like high speed rail is perfectly reasonable. Privatization isn't a natural outcome of a public corporation running a deficit--it's the result of a political decision to disinvest in that project.

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Re:High-speed rail in California was a disaster, but there’s... by geofft on Wednesday February 13, 2019 @11:37PM (#19159654)

Agree. Government debt is a good thing - just ask fiscal conservative Ronald Reagan, who was the first president since World War II to increase the national debt relative to the GDP. Government is not a company, and judging it by the standards of a company is a mistake. (If anything, it is the dual of a company.)

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Re:High-speed rail in California was a disaster, but there’s... by slavik81 on Thursday February 14, 2019 @03:56AM (#19160565)

Ronald Reagan lowered government revenues with a round of tax cuts and sharply raised government spending. The debt was entirely from increasing the military budget without having taxes to pay for it. I would not describe his presidency as fiscally conservative.

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