by Art Woolf
Remember the argument that the $787 billion in stimulus money was "temporary, targeted, and timely" and necessary to give a boost to a plummeting economy? This VPR story tells us that federal and staterail transportation officials
are making plans to restore passenger rail service along the Connecticut River valley, on a line that runs from northern Vermont to Washington D.C.
Those plans (note they are plans, not actually spending any money yet) are to replace 20,000 railroad ties in Massachusetts. And where does the funding come from?
The project is funded through a $73 million dollar federal grant under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
That's the stimulus bill, passed in 2009, which was sold to the public as putting money into "shovel-ready" projects.
It's almost enough to make a person cynical about what politicians say compared to what they do.
