posted
As a loyal tax payer I am tired of seeing my money go "down the toilet" and to amtrak, I paid 284,438 last year in taxes. And as an investment banker I know the difference between a good investment and a bad one. Only Amtrak routes that make money should be kept. And the money losing ones should only be open to the tax payers in the highest bracket (ME!!!!) as a reward for paying that much! I agree w/ Mr. Toy that left wing is corrupting our society with illegal immigration, high taxes, well fare, and other social gunk. In closing we could save a lot of money and help fight terrorism better if we did not have Amtrak trains losing millions every year. And btw listen to Rush Limbaugh and Bill Oriely, they both know Amtrak is a losing proposition.
First, take a deep breath. Exhale slowly. Shake your arms and hands, shake it all out baby. Go to your happy place.
Now, do NOT go look and see how much money the airlines get from the government. You're likely to have another meltdown. Your therapy sessions will be twice as long as normal.
[This message has been edited by Room Service (edited 08-23-2003).]
posted
As a loyal tax payer I am tired of seeing my money go "down the toilet" and to amtrak, I paid 284,438 last year in taxes
284,438 what, cheeseburgers? Now if we were to assume dollars, I just want to state that Amtrak got only $6 of my tax dollars last year. That means you are claiming that you yourself alone spent 47,406 times more on Amtrak than the rest of the entire US population. That is impossible.
It is rather annoying to see deliberate flames posted on here, but at least post some accurate flames so we can have a serious discussion and we do not talk down to you.
Only Amtrak routes that make money should be kept
That of course means that all Amtrak trains should stop operating throughout the whole system--including the Northeast Corridor.
And as an investment banker I know the difference between a good investment and a bad one
Cute. Do you know the difference between an underfunded investment and a properly-funded one? Also, can you tell the difference between the amounts of subsidy given to Amtrak and the subsidies given to the highways, airports, air traffic control systems, waterways et al (including airlines, believe it or not).
In closing we could save a lot of money and help fight terrorism better if we did not have Amtrak trains losing millions every year
An extra billion per annum in the anti-terrorism budget would not help in any way, of course. Perhaps if NASA were shut down? Now there is a massive subsidy not talked about, producing no return on investment.
And btw listen to Rush Limbaugh and Bill Oriely
Bill O'Reilly, actually (that's "Liam Ó Raghallagh" in my native tongue). Any Irish-descended person who spouts right-wing rhetoric is a traitor to his mother country, BTW. Rush is rather boring to listen to--I would not waste my time on hatemongers on AM radio.
Oh, and what's with the personal attacks on Mr. Toy? Perhaps a libel lawsuit will make you a little bit shorter on your alleged cash...??? We really do not wish to ruin you, of course...
[This message has been edited by irishchieftain (edited 08-23-2003).]
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about the airlines getting funding like amtrak, the airlines got money in the form of bonds, which means they have to pay the $$$$ back, unlike amtrak
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Well, aat least one bit of good has come out of all this: I never knew Liam was equivalent to Bill! Thanks!
Posts: 363 | From: Southwest North Central Florida | Registered: Apr 2002
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posted
the airlines got money in the form of bonds, which means they have to pay the $$$$ back
With airlines still facing bankruptcy, what makes you think they will? Not only that, but you fail to note that in helping the airlines out to the tune of $15 billion (initially), the potential arsenal of al-Qaeda is merely being bolstered.
284,438 was my total tax bill not how much went to amtrak
Of course it was. Funny how you fail to mention what denomination of currency, though.
Again, assuming dollars: Even if it were $284,438 and sundry cents, only $6 would go to Amtrak. Dat's it.
posted
As an investment banker with a tax bill of '284,438', that means your income has to be many times mine. I would also guess that, as a percentage of my income, I paid many times what you paid for Amtrak to bail out the S&L's back in the 80's. And those guys could even spell 'well fare' (especially when preceded by 'corporate').
Amtrak is the biggest bang I get for my tax buck. Do I feel any safer because of the War on Terror, War on Drugs, or the highest incarceration rate in the world. Not in the slightest! All are high-buck tax items. Do I feel safer on the rails than in the air or driving. Absolutely! And for six bucks!
And as for fighting terrorism, the terrorists would most likely love to see Amtrak shut down. It makes shutting down our entire national transportation system easier and it makes oil our only energy source to run it.
Posts: 1572 | From: St. Paul, MN | Registered: Dec 2002
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Anyone that would believe that littletrain has ever seen $200,000, much less paid that in taxes, would also believe that I charge $5 to read your posts.
Please fax your $5 to me at my email address.
Thank you.......:P
Posts: 1418 | From: Houston, Republic of Texas | Registered: Jan 2001
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It never fails to amaze me as to why someone would take the time to insult Amtrak on this forum.
LittleTrain, say what you want, but you won't get anywhere on this topic. You are up against a panel of individuals who have made it a priority to research and fully understand all there is to know about passenger train operations. This discussion forum provides information and support for Amtrak.
There are other places for fights, if that is what you are looking for. Otherwise, post your questions and learn a bit more about Amtrak before you make yourself look stupid.
Also, look around your screen for reference as to the correct spelling of Amtrak.
quote:Originally posted by littletrain: As a loyal tax payer I am tired of seeing my money go "down the toilet" and to amtrak, I paid 284,438 last year in taxes.
Congratulations! You have single-handedly fully funded Amtrak's long-distance trains for another year. Thank you for your generosity! You made a wise investment, as I will illustrate below.
quote:And as an investment banker I know the difference between a good investment and a bad one. Only Amtrak routes that make money should be kept.
OK run this through your little calculator. Amtrak's allegedly profitable regional trains handle 46% of Amtrak's passenger-miles yet consume a whopping 82% of Amtrak's federal subsidies. The NEC alone sucks up 76% of the subsidies while handling only 34% of Amtrak's passenger miles.
The allegedly "money-losing" long distance trains handle 54% of Amtrak's passenger miles yet consume just 18% of Amtrak's federal subsidies. And that's going by Amtrak's fully-allocated fixed costs. Direct costs for long-distance trains are much lower.
So, which do you suppose is giving us a better return on our investment?
quote:Only Amtrak routes that make money should be kept.
OK, I'll agree to that on one condition. Common fairness dictates that we apply the same standard to all forms of transportation. So, only those streets, roads and highways that make money should be kept. Ditto for urban transit systems, airports, canals, ferries, harbors, etc. Fair enough?
quote:And the money losing ones should only be open to the tax payers in the highest bracket (ME!!!!)
Of course, people in your tax bracket constitute a very tiny percentage of the population so that doesn't give Amtrak much of a customer base to draw from.
quote:I agree w/ Mr. Toy that left wing is corrupting our society with illegal immigration, high taxes, well fare, and other social gunk.
Curiouser and curiouser. I have tumbled down the rabbit hole. My goodness, everything is backwards down here!
BTW, I have asked once nicely, now I must be more firm. Please take my name out of your signature or I shall ask a moderator to do it for you.
------------------ Trust God, love your neighbor, and never mistake opinion for truth. -Mr. Toy
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I for one think that if Little train wants to post his thoughts and statements on this board, that we should all ignore him and not respond to him. It is clear that he is VERY uneducated, especially in the field of passenger train service, so why should we acknowledge him any more than we would a two year old babbling?
Posts: 6 | From: Topeka, Kansas, USA | Registered: Aug 2002
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quote:Originally posted by vincen47: It never fails to amaze me as to why someone would take the time to insult Amtrak on this forum.
LittleTrain, say what you want, but you won't get anywhere on this topic. You are up against a panel of individuals who have made it a priority to research and fully understand all there is to know about passenger train operations. This discussion forum provides information and support for Amtrak.
There are other places for fights, if that is what you are looking for. Otherwise, post your questions and learn a bit more about Amtrak before you make yourself look stupid.
Also, look around your screen for reference as to the correct spelling of Amtrak.
Good points
------------------ LOOK LISTEN LIVE BEFORE CROSSING RR TRACKS
Homework assignments, puberty, and medication monitoring by a highly trained high school nurse should diminish Master Littletrain's need to post on this forum.
Off to school you go, Master Littletrain. You told us on 7/22/03 that you're "...only 15..."(Thread: "How Many Miles do You Have"). And then on this thread you state you paid $284,438 in taxes. Wow, you dah'man, man.
[This message has been edited by zephyr (edited 08-24-2003).]
[This message has been edited by zephyr (edited 08-25-2003).]
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Hmmm. Looking back to littletrain's 7/22 post he came across as a reasonable teenage guy who likes to ride long distance trains, having 8,000+ miles under his belt.
I am entertainng some theories about him: 1. He went off his medication since 7/22. 2. Someone less stable found out his password and is posting under his name. 3. Jekyl & Hyde
------------------ Trust God, love your neighbor, and never mistake opinion for truth. -Mr. Toy
It is difficult to believe that an investment banker could have such obvious spelling errors.
Trains are a part of our heritage, our culture, something those on the extreme right are always so adamant to protect, and yet they are the ones most likely to want to shut Amtrak down.
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