The T is run by the Gov. This is private, I am sure they did more research to figure out how to make money with it. The Gov is inefficient and wasteful.

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I think the money is made with the low operational costs and leasing space on the tracks for advertising and utility lines. Also freight could be a big generator of revenue.

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Actually, all you need to look at is Medicare and the VA healthcare plans and see how they are MORE EFFICIENT than your private health insurance. Why? Because they buy in bulk and negotiate WITHOUT taking a cut of the action.

Your gov't is inefficient bull is nonsense.

No transportation system "makes a profit" anywhere. Highways, airports, trains, buses = they're all subsidized. Just like water is subsidized. There are some things the private sector CANNOT provide efficiently because the capital outlays are too huge.

I hate Libertarians. The philosophy = fail.

Now, this system is just stupid. Investment of this scale in a declining state is ridiculous. I would not want to see a single taxpayer dollar go towards this. I'm tired of wasting money on systems that people DON'T use while systems in historically transit-friendly cities crumble to the ground (NY, Chicago, Boston to name a few). It's ridiculous.

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1. Not talking about Healthcare

2. "The rail lines would be built using only private funding, and the state of Michigan would get half the resulting profits."

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Thanks for the LOL Luis...

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This system will not make any profit. The state will likely have to give up the right-of-way, at some cost to taxpayers. The Las Vegas monorail was funded privately, and has largely been a failure. "Private" roads in CA have largely failed or required concessions from the government. The result are high fares that people don't want to pay.

What would make something like this successful? $8/gallon gas and a $40,000 tax on cars. Then people would use this system. Why would you take this pie-in-the-sky "ride" when you can ride a bus for $10 on a subsidized highway? If that highway did not exist, then maybe you'd get some people riding this...but they aren't going to take that highway out. No way, no how. On top of that how much are you going to charge for a ride from Detroit to Ann Arbor? $10? At $10 per person you'd need 230 million fares to overcome the $2.3B capital outlay, not to mention the operating costs. Not going to happen.

Disclosure: I am a transportation expert. Not that it matters. Any smart person would recognize the failure this would be.

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thank you for responding to that ass, epyx...

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For those who say private industry could get the job done better I say take a look at the Las Vegas monorail. It is a leech that every private company on the strip had a hand in. Because of turf battles it goes nowhere, is hyper expensive and because the stations are so far from the front desks, no one wants to lug their crap to and from their hotels so they take cabs. Of course, now they want the public to up our subsidies of it.

Our taxes are meant for the public good and should be spent on things like transportation infrastructure.

Take a look at the OC toll roads as well, the State of California sold off pristeen land to a private company that has repeatedly raised rates and asked for concessions from the citizens.

Private industry has only one concern, its profits. That's fine, however, public transportation fuels the general economy and is way too important to be left in private corporations hands, in most cases.

Look at what happened in Iraq when we privatized our army. You now have our troops doing double duty protecting people who use to be troops.

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"Private industry has only one concern, its profits. "

And gov't officials ony have on concern, re-election, to keep their well paid jobs, or, profits.

At least Private Industry is spending it's own money, and has to worry about if they're still going to be in busness the next day.

Gov't, not so much.

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Apparently they don't have to worry about whether they stay in business or not. All they have to do is cry "too big to fail" and then they get bailed out by government (aka, us). Of course, most of the bigwigs have already pocketed their millions...

All of this government vs. private industry bickering is absurd.

The government is lousy at doing a lot of things, but essential for some others.
Private industry is lousy at a whole 'nother set of things, but pretty good at it's own set of issues. It isn't an either/or proposition.

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Where exactly do you think the private sector gets it's money? You! Me! It doesn't just pop up out of nowhere (unless you're Bernie Madoff or AIG). Give it a rest.

Private health insurance does nothing but insert a profit-oriented middle man to deny you healthcare services and enrich shareholders who don't give a crap if you are get better.

Some things shouldn't be left to those whos only goal is to make money. At least elected representatives are held accountable to We The People, if we hold them accountable. Don't elect your representative if you don't like what he is doing. But, chances are you vote them in each and every time. And if you don't, your neighbors do. We live in a representative democracy and it's Un-American to blame the politicians when we put them in office.

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Luis, you never fail to crack me up...

"Where exactly do you think the private sector gets it's money? You! Me!"

You are correct sir. But you are forgetting one MAJOR hole in your arugment.

I can choose to send my money to a private sector compay in support of what they do. Or I can choose not to send my money. You see, it's my choice.

On the other hand, if I don't feel like paying my taxes, I will either forced to pay, or punished. Most likely both.

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Ford GT.

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