John Phelan writes excellent material over at the Center for the American Experiment. Government officials at all levels attempt to hide the true cost of government from the taxpayers and consumers. I believe that the item with the single highest rate of inflation over the last few years is government spending, at all levels, and the taxes and fees that support that spending. In Minnesota, this is especially true at the state and local level, where both spending and taxes are going up at double digit rates. Property taxes are a particular sore spot right now. Government is incredibly inefficient, often just downright incompetent. It is rare for any activity conducted by government to be done efficiently.
And the nation’s passenger train service is a great example, whether government owned or just supported by massive subsidies. The example Mr. Phelan reveals involves a new service between Chicago and St. Paul. Amtrak, which is basically government-run, claimed the line made money in the first weeks after the service was initiated. But it reached this conclusion only by not including the massive government subsidies, without which the line would not operate at all. When subsidies were added in, a $100,000 operating profit turned into a $200,000 loss, paid for by taxpayers. (JP Post)
And in fact after the initial novelty of the new service wore off, by September of 2024 the line had a loss of over $3 million. And as of September 2025, the service lost almost $11 million in the prior year and incurred a subsidy of over $30 for each ride, or 40% of the total cost. As these deficits continue and even rise, the states serviced by the line will have to pick up the subsidies, as the federal government is phasing its out. As I said this is typical government accounting and deceit. They don’t want the public to know what it really is costing to provide services and they try to hide those costs. We need legislation which not only mandates more visibility but forces efficiency and productivity in government services, probably by turning them over to private firms.
California train from LA to SF from AI
“The estimated cost of the California high-speed rail project has increased dramatically from its original estimate. In 2008, the project was estimated to cost about $33 billion, but current estimates for the full Los Angeles to San Francisco line are between $106 billion and $135 billion”