Open letter to President elect
Obama Rail Interstate System (ORIS)

Dear Mr. President-Elect,

I know you have ideas of your own, but may I entice you with my idea which if implemented would be a stroke of genius on your part. The question is not whether America needs a make over but how. I propose you invest massively in rail infrastructure and here is why and how to do it. First the why, you will have accomplished three of your major campaign promises; jobs, energy independence and going green, all in the same sentence.

If construction of the interstate rail lines were to begin immediately the short term gain would be visible. Everyone who wants a job would have one, that would drive unemployment to zero if not a deficit of worker and we would have to institute the guest worker program that has been talked about. With a worker deficit the government would not have to pay unemployment insurance thus saving money. With all the people at work tax revenues would ultimately rise since more people are working and paying taxes. This would in turn compel you Sir to honor your other campaign promise to cut taxes to us the 95% of the mid-class family which would expand the mid-class while lifting the lower-class.

That was in the short term, in the long run, since the trains would be using electric line to run, we would have to produce more electricity (nuclear power?) thus more construction. Once the web of rail lines across the whole country are up and running, truck would not need to drive the highways for long distance, they would be only local, thus saving the ware and tear of Eisenhower Interstate system. With a more reliable rail system less people would see the need to drive but within their locality, thereby reducing traffic jams and pollution all at one short. People would get home in time for dinner and just in time to send the kids to bed after helping with the home work.

Now comes the HOW

We have the expertise and know how, 1st don’t bail the big three car companies, let them fail ( this will not be popular but lets remember what my mother used to say growing up “medicine tastes like… well like medicine but it’s good for you.” This will be a bitter pill), they should have failed years ago. Look at the Asian car companies they make good cars and last long. For example, look at the resale valve of a 2001 Honda accord $6,600 vs. 2001 Ford Taurus $4,115. Why are people gravitating towards cars other than Detroit’s? That is the question we should answer by letting them fail. Oh by the way Asian car makers are not asking for handouts. For once, let’s call a spade a spade as opposed to a big spoon. For so long we have buried, Detroit too, our heads in the sand and hoped for the best. The way we have sold and bought cars (and other big ticket items) has to change for three main reasons; one, financial, if one can’t afford it, don’t sell it on credit with zero down, we were selling to individuals who couldn’t put anything down…now that is way smart, they can’t put anything down now and we have faith they will pay in full in the future. If someone doesn’t qualify for zero down then they shouldn’t get to drive off the lot or move into a house. Secondly, for environmental reason, less driving will pollute less thus a better and greener environment. And lastly health, people who drive less walk a lot and people who walk a lot tend to be healthy thereby reducing hospital visits even if they get to eat all the greasy food. Let us for a moment think how we get fat, it’s like a bank account if one was to put in money and doesn’t spend much he/she would end up with a fat bank account. On the other hand, were he to spend as much as he puts in then, there is no way in hell they would have a fat bank account. Our bodies are our food bank accounts and when we make deposits of soft drinks (okay I will include you too, Joe six pack) and greasy food (which if you ask me is not bad, I love it) and they refuse to spend it (exercise\walking) then we are bound to have a fat “back account”. Walking is a good exercise and no matter how much one eats or drinks they will never have a six pack tummy. Casing point, I have never seen (there may be some) a homeless person who for the most part of the day has a brown bag, having a six pack tummy. Why is that so? After great analysis I discovered that Joe is always walking begging for money for the next brown bag. Show me a homeless drunk who is fat and I will show you a homeless drunk who just lost his shirt in the stock market. And am not looking down on the homeless and drunk, am merely making an observation.

Back to the car companies, once the car companies have failed we will have a large work force of engineers and blue-collar works, the lawyers too. Mr. President elect your should institute your massive rail project at his time, hire the lawyers to buy all those lands by the interstates from the government or individuals at a fair market value (we are not in Russia) and then hire engineers to survey while others are planning and build rail cars (as opposed to cars) which will use electricity.

Groups that will benefit are so many, but to mention a few, electric companies since they will have to build power line along the interstates to supply the electric trains with power. This will create the green jobs that you campaigned on, since repairing and servicing the power line for rail car and the cars themselves can’t be out sourced, thus improving the environment. We will draw in high quality engineering from Asian (e.g. Japan) and Europe (e.g. France) to lend us the know how of high speed passenger trains.

These projects will be good for the steel works that they will have jobs once again (happy unions will always support you). Since the economy is in the toilet, less people are going for a cruise and less good are been shipped, shipping company are having hard times to the point they are forfeiting their deposits to acquire ships thereby using less steel, the rail project will provide somewhere for all that steel to go. We will have construction in every state in order to link up all the states with low and high speed rail lines; it will look something similar to the interstate. We will not have one company with no bid contract(s), all the states will have this “pork” that for once will really work and produce something for once. Every state will have the same slice of pork and it will be massive and public and open to public scrutiny. Government agencies will get back to work examining, inspecting and enforcing laws, e.g. EPA. We will become energy independence by making electric cars albeit on rails.

Health care, will improve dramatically (I know you don’t like drama but this is one drama you might like), when people are able to get to the ball park on rail (think of the subway series) or to the super bowl on rail then, you Sir, will have made your mark. Walking is good exercise.

Education
You have a very good example, your VP. A very well educated chap. When people start riding the rail to work as Joe (not six pack) has done for all those years while in the senate he can tell you that he has done a lot of reading in those trains than if he were to drive and listen to talk radio which is someone’s opinion (and for the most part toxic) but we tend to forget what our parents taught us “talk is cheap”. Thus a student who lives in Chicago and is attending a school in Atlanta would have more time on the electric car ride to Atlanta reading rather than taking off shoes at the airport and having a high carbon foot print. He/she would reduce his/her carbon foot so dramatically that you would have a dramatic administration. If we had high speed train at a reasonable price people would be willing to ride comfortably rather than fly uncomfortably with luggage and leg room restriction. More people will read “Audacity of Hope” on the train.

When all is said and done in as much as we, shall we say, are not fond of Europeans will say as a the Italians said doing WWII, “we don’t like Mussolini but at least he makes the trains ran on time.”

Thank you,Epiphany
http://pphilosophy.blogspot.com/