Finger Lakes families have had to find a way to survive during decades of job losses, rising taxes, and widespread economic decline. Still, we are unlikely to hear anyone say "my economic woes would be resolved if only I could get to Batavia faster by train."
WSYR reports the federal government, mere days before the mid-term election, has taken another $18 million from taxpayers and given it to Big Rail:
The announcement is the latest round of funding for high-speed rail along the so-called Empire Corridor. The $18 (million) to be spent in Onondaga County is a majority of the $28 million to be spent across three projects in the Empire Corridor.
The funding came from a Federal Rail Administration grant that will formally be announced Thursday by the U.S. Department of Transportation. It was announced Monday in a joint press release from Representative Louise Slaughter, Representative Dan Maffei, Senator Charles Schumer and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.
The political nature of this spending is analyzed by the Anti-Planner, under the heading "More Money Wasted":
Just in time to influence the November election, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has granted $2.5 billion for high-speed rail to several states, including California, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, and Michigan. Underscoring the political nature of the grants, the announcements were not made by the Federal Railroad Administration, which doesn’t mention them on its web site.
Instead, LaHood phoned major politicians (all Democrats), who then announced the grants to the media. A formal announcement is expected on Thursday.
Bold added.
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