Subsidy vs. Investment

[TWA904]

A few weeks ago I sent the following question to my Congressman. As of now he has provided

me no answer. My Congressman is Cliff Stearns.

When a grant is made to Amtrak for "infastructure" it is called a subsidy. When a grant is made to

any other mode of transportation for "infastructure" it is called and investment. Why the difference?

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

I think it is because Amtrak does not make a profit so the subsidies are needed for any new project in addition to other subsides just to cover operating costs. The investments are becuase those stuff can pay for themselves so they are just being done to make more money.

So basically, the subsides are to improve Amtrak but they are still gonna lose money while the investments are to make more money.

BTW, you are a fan of TWA, huh?

 

[TWA904]

Yes Swadian, I am a fan of TWA. It's a same they had to be absorded into American. I collect almost anything that

has TWA on it. I've got several boxes of their timetables and a few books. My oldest timetable dates from Nov 1944.

 

[Ryan]

Subsidy = Federal spending for things I disagree with (see also: "pork").

Investment = Federal spending for things that I agree with.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

Yes Swadian, I am a fan of TWA. It's a same they had to be absorded into American. I collect almost anything that

has TWA on it. I've got several boxes of their timetables and a few books. My oldest timetable dates from Nov 1944.

Nice! You should go to www.airliners.net if you haven't already! That is THE place for airliner fans!

 

[transit54]

Truly, I think the primary difference is that the subsidy is the operating portion of what Amtrak receives, whereas the investment is the capital portion. Generally, I think people pick one or the other based on their views of Amtrak, depending on how they want to skew things.

But really, an investment is something that one puts money into with the expectation of long term rewards. Such as "investing in infrastructure" or new cars or locomotives. A subsidy is an amount of money that is provided to fund an ongoing expense (such as the operation of passenger trains on an annual basis).

I generally believe that to the extent we can increase the amount we invest in passenger rail (in terms of capital projects), we can reduce the operating subsidy that is required.

 

[Eric S]

Subsidy = Federal spending for things I disagree with (see also: "pork").

Investment = Federal spending for things that I agree with.

Precisely.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

Subsidy = Federal spending for things I disagree with (see also: "pork").

Investment = Federal spending for things that I agree with.

So, you disagree with subsides for Amtrak? Or am I getting you wrong?

 

[Ryan]

You're getting me wrong.

 

[pennyk]

Subsidy = Federal spending for things I disagree with (see also: "pork").

Investment = Federal spending for things that I agree with.