Word: railings
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Ronald Reagan said, "Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem," Democrats can say, "Government is the ultimate expression of our public values - including our desire to create a free, fair market system." For decades since Reagan, it has been easy for feckless demagogues to rail against the nation's capital as if it were a deadly virus implanted on the Potomac by space invaders or the French. But that ended abruptly on Sept. 11, 2001, when Karen Hughes changed pronouns at a White House press conference: "Your Federal Government continues to function effectively...
...criticism. And while the rest of the G.O.P. field ran on a platform of 'I'll keep you safe, I'll cut your taxes and I'll overturn Roe v. Wade' (rotate pledge depending on candidate), Thompson centered his first policy rollout in early October on the third rail of American politics, Social Security reform...
...increases in revenue this year, Amtrak, which has been the beneficiary of rising gasoline costs and long lines at airports, may never be able to operate without federal subsidies. Given its permanent state of dependence, the federal government should cease prolonging Amtrak’s operational control of intercity rail services and instead allow competing firms to bid on rights to operate passenger trains on corridors of their choosing a strategy the MBTA employs successfully for its commuter rails...
Regrettably, the federal government seems unlikely to pursue such a course: In October, the Senate voted to increase Amtrak subsidies while revoking the stipulation that Amtrak strive for fiscal self-sufficiency. Were the government to privatize the tracks, however, demand would determine which rail corridors were worth keeping open. Though some rural lines that suffer from low ridership may be cut, so too would the inefficiencies that plague the current system. And if tracks were up for bid, firms that performed poorly could be replaced when their contracts expired...
Whether or not the ongoing contract dispute devolves into a strike on Jan. 30, this quagmire will have served to remind us that a substantive overhaul of Amtrak is long overdue. The American rail system lags far behind its counterparts in Western Europe and Japan, and it will not catch up anytime soon if Congress insists on simply continuing to subsidize the lackluster and stagnating rail system...