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Dellinger: Paul Ryan‘s budget opines that ““high-speed rail and other new intercity rail projects should be pursued only if they can be established as self-supporting commercial services.” I assume you disagree that all new rail projects should be done as profitable businesses only?

Dukakis: There’s no profitable— Well, we are making money on the Northeast corridor and the Acela. But were spending $40 billion in public subsidies on highways, $16 billion on air, and a billion and a half on Amtrak. Don’t these guys understand? I mean where are they? I don’t know what the hell they’re talking about. Every mode of transportation, as you know, is subsidized. And rail and highway’s and air are far more heavily subsidized than rail.

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