House bill cuts Amtrak funding 40 percent

[charliea]

16. No its not ridiculous

I consider assuring access to safe, efficient, and reliable transportation something that's in everyone's best interest, a function of good government for all, like spending money on roads and air traffic controllers. As I tell my Congressman every time it comes up for some kind of vote.

I'm sure you must have meant that: Everyone must agree that giving an unknown amount of money to the CIA, and its private contractors is ridiculous, as is paying government contractors after they've already failed to meet contractual goals and violated federal law.

You can look up a lot concerning the Budget and where the money goes. Here's a good place to get started:

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collection.action?collectionCode=BUDGET&browsePath=Fiscal+Year+2014&searchPath=Fiscal+Year+2014&leafLevelBrowse=false&isCollapsed=false&isOpen=true&packageid=BUDGET-2014-BUD&ycord=0

Note that 'black' budget items are intentionally hidden. Which is why when people tell me that we should treat the budget like a family would I ask what family throws uncounted buckets of money down a black hole and expects to know how to balance their checkbook?