Well President Barack Obama likes high speed rail. I still do not.

The State of California can not afford to build a high speed rail network like that pictured above. The United States government might be able to build a high speed rail network. Going with the diagramed network above, the federal government should build an Eastern seaboard network, a Pacific Coast network, and connect the two through Chicago or New Orleans. That is very similar to what is diagrammed above.

If you watch the video below (skip to 4:40), Obama says he wants to improve rail by upgrading existing rail routes to improve speed. Then he wants to develop high speed rail in certain corridors around the country. Currently, he is going to make $8 billion available and have another $5 billion in the future.

On Monday's front page there was an article about $8 billion in stimulus funds that might be allocated to high speed rail. My initial response was "why can't we stop wasting money?" The high speed rail debate has been going on for years, I think if it really was worth it, we would have dont it by now. Yes, building the fancy train set might create some jobs, but what about the long run. Our state is already equipped with airports in every major city. And most minor cities also have small airports. Transport across the state is there.

Furthermore, let us not forget about our current rail system. Besides the Metrolink accident that occurred late last year, the current system works. Trains run daily all over the state and in an efficient manner. This brings me to the old saying, "If its not broken, don't fix it." Lets hope the wiseguys up in Sacramento subscribe to it.

Back to the $8 billion at hand. I am plenty sure it can be used for a better purpose. What about all those teachers who were just laid off or buying books for students. I imagine it would be better to invest the stimulus money into education rather than on infastructure, and especially for infastructure we DO NOT NEED.