If we shut down the losers and actually invested the profits from the Northeast Corridor back into that line,
Yglesias wrote up this exact argument this week [1]. The Northeast Corridor profit he dug up [2] amounts to all of $136 million/year for the Northeast Corridor; a proposed upgrade is estimated at $151 billion [3]. (And the profit figure only includes operating costs -- the actually relevant figures aren't available).
Yglesias wrote up this exact argument this week [1]. The Northeast Corridor profit he dug up [2] amounts to all of $136 million/year for the Northeast Corridor; a proposed upgrade is estimated at $151 billion [3]. (And the profit figure only includes operating costs -- the actually relevant figures aren't available).
[1] http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2013/03/01/amtrak_profit...
[2] http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Research/Files/Reports/2013...
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northeast_Corridor