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My roommate and I had a long discussion a month or so ago about the $810 million federal stimulus money that Wisconsin got to establish a high-speed passenger rail between Milwaukee and Madison. We are both very hesitant about the idea, and think it is not a very good idea. I have found two articles that have different views on this high-speed rial. The first article, Wisconsin to get $810 million for high-speed rail, is from the Wisconsin State Journal. This article supports the funding. Its arguments for the rail include the increase in job creation, the long-term economic growth, and the high-tech collaboration between scientists and investors. It is stated that the rail could take until 2016 to be finished, but $1 is also being used to study the possibility of a high-speed rail between Madison and Minneapolis/St. Paul. Wisco agreed to buy two trains from a Milwaukee-based company called Talgo, which expects to bring in about 80 jobs for the production of the trains. Two more trains could also be bought with the stimulus money.

Another article I found about the high-speed rail is called Rep. Brett Davis: Stopping the Madison-Milwaukee train boondoggle from The Cap Times. This article focuses on the negatives about the high-speed rail. It's arguments against the rail include the high price, the consequential amount of money taxpayers will have to pay, the large cost of riding the rail, and that our state transportation fund cannot handle this price. This article was written by Wisconsin rep Brett Davis, who is a Republican from Oregon.

Out of these two articles, I think the first one seems to have more liable information. The second is written more opinion-based than anything, but my opinion has not changed. I believe this high-speed rail is not a good idea unless we have definite plans to extend this rail to Minneapolis and St. Paul. I believe the cost to ride the rial ($60 roundtrip) is way too expensive, but if we lower the price, we would have to increase the amount our taxpayers pay, which would already be high. I also think the public transportation in Milwaukee is not the greatest and most people would want a car. I think the idea of a high-speed rail (economically speaking) is great, but I think we need to work out more logistics before going at it. I think we need to have a better system that could extend from Minneapolis/St. Paul, through Madison, and to Chicago and then it would be more worth the money.