There was plenty of irony in the recent renaming of an Amtrak station in Wilmington, Del., for Vice President Joe Biden.
The vice president is a frequent advocate of government-funded passenger rail service, and the renovation of the station got $20 million from the federal "stimulus."
But as a testament to the inefficiency of the stimulus, the project came in nearly $6 million over budget. Of course, since the "stimulus" is borrowed money that U.S. taxpayers will have to repay with interest, the project will put taxpayers a lot more than "just" $6 million in the red.
At any rate, the big day arrived for the renaming of the station for the sitting vice president. But there was one problem: The CEO of Amtrak, Joseph Boardman, was on an Amtrak train bound for the Wilmington ceremony - and the train broke down in Baltimore.
"You want to hold your head and say, 'Just what we needed today,'" Boardman told ABC News.
As ABC reporter Michael Falcone, who was riding with the Amtrak head, noted at the time, "BAD sign: Amtrak CEO Joe Boardman just got OFF the train to take a car to Wilmington."
Does it make you feel better to know that the vice president as well as President Barack Obama want to spend tens of billions more borrowed dollars for impractical high-speed rail projects around the nation?
Wouldn't it make more sense to stop subsidizing Amtrak, shut down its unpopular lines and sell to the highest free-market bidders the lines that are profitable?