Taking us for a ride

Pretty much everything that's wrong with government is encapsulated in the recent announcement of what the New York Times described as a "$2.45 billion loan" to Amtrak to buy new Acela trains to replace the ones that currently ride the rails between Washington, New York, and Boston. To start with, there is the lack of humility. The Times reports that "Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., a longtime Amtrak supporter who frequently travels by train between Washington and his home in Delaware, anno

Pretty much everything that's wrong with government is encapsulated in the recent announcement of what the New York Times described as a "$2.45 billion loan" to Amtrak to buy new Acela trains to replace the ones that currently ride the rails between Washington, New York, and Boston. To start with, there is the lack of humility. The Times reports that "Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., a longtime Amtrak supporter who frequently travels by train between Washington and his home in Delaware, anno…