Joe Biden: $53 Billion For New Rail Networks
$53 billion will be invested in building new rail networks in the following years (skyscrapercity.com)
Transportation is a very well-known form of improvement and of gaining money. That is why the United States has decided to invest some big money in building new passenger rails.
$53 billion are planned to be invested into constructing new means of transportation for people, as it is a very safe way to make money out of it, especially given the economic situation throughout which the whole world is going and which did not spare the United States. Furthermore, it is also a good chance of employment, as people nowadays find it really hard to get a job. Imagine how many people would be needed to get the process going. That amount of people are now unemployed and if things go well in this area, the rate of unemployment will decrease substantially.
This very ambitious project is sustained by Vice President Joe Biden, who on Tuesday announced that the United States will invest $53 billion in a program to build new high-speed rail networks. Furthermore, the plan is to improve the existing ones too. However, although the plan looks really safe and good for the nation, Republicans in the House of Representatives are really skeptical about it. They said that this is not a matter of how much money the government is willing to invest in building these new rail networks, but it’s a matter of private investment. Still, Vice President Biden is really enthusiastic about the project, saying that this is all about “seizing the future.” Countries like China and Japan invest huge amount of money in creating rail networks and this is what the United States should do if it wants to continue leading the world in the 21st century. “If we do not, you tell me how America is going to be able to lead the world in the 21st century,” Biden said on Tuesday. He is right, as rail networks are a very successful way to bring money to the country, plus the process of building them requires many people. People who are now unemployed.
According to Reuters, President Obama’s budget for 2012 is to be revealed next week, but it seems that $8 billion out of this budget are allocated to this particular project. The rest of the money will be delivered in the next 6 years. However, Republicans continue to disapprove of the project, saying that it could very well face problems in getting legislative approval. Moreover, Transportation Committee Chairman John Mica and Railroads Subcommittee Chairman Bill Shuster also expressed reservations regarding this new plan. “This is like giving Bernie Madoff another chance at handling your investment portfolio,” Mica said in the statement made on the Transportation Committee’s website. He was definitely referring to the financier who is now serving a 150-year prison sentence for running an estimated $65 billion Ponzi scheme.
It looks like everyone, except Vice President Joe Biden and his men, think that this project is doomed from the very beginning. Most Representatives think that private investment is what will do the trick, not spending Government’s money. However, some advocates say that the United States’ investment in high-speed rail lags many other countries and they point to China. China is planning to invest around $602 billion in its rail networks during a 4-year period, from 2011 to 2015, according to the China Securities Journal.
The plan is really thought-off and it should be put in practice, because according to Vice President Joe Biden, “there are key places where we cannot afford to sacrifice as a nation — one of which is infrastructure.” And he is right, given the fact that people need means of transportation, cheap means of transportation actually. Buying a car is no longer affordable for many people, given the financial situation the United States is confronted right now and rail networks are one of the best means of both giving people a chance to travel and of employing thousands of people who now stand without a job. The United States feels this “need to invest in a modern rail system that will help connect communities, reduce congestion and create quality, skilled manufacturing jobs that cannot be outsourced,” according to Vice President Joe Biden.
Hopefully, this new and very promising project will get through the Chambers and will be approved, because people right now need jobs and they need a way of getting to their jobs, if they have one. The project looks good on paper and it will sure bring huge amounts of money to the United States’ budget in the years that follow.
