Low speed train scheduled for Ohio

Not to actually unite Northwest Ohio with the rest of the state, mind you. And the train will go 39 to 79 mph. Heh. Perhaps there will never be a direct route from Northwest Ohio to Columbus, just a lot of circuitous paths through Nowheresville. Ugh. We continue to spend money we do not have for politicians whose greed know no bounds.

The federal government is bestowing upon Ohio $400 million in stimulus funding for passenger-rail service linking Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati and Dayton.At a Jan. 28 Statehouse news conference, Gov. Ted Strickland was practically giddy over the news. And state transportation director Jolene Molitoris all but donned a cheerleading outfit and did back flips.

It would have been easy -- indeed desirable -- to get caught up in the euphoria but for one detail: This is not going to work.

Never mind, if you can, the money. The federal government doesn't have the $400 million. More than likely, our children and theirs will end up paying back the Chinese for the loan. And Ohio, with an impending $7 billion hole in the next two-year budget, can hardly afford the $17 million annual subsidy to operate the rail system.