To the editor: The Pentagon is projected to spend a staggering $2.1 trillion on the F-35 fighter jet program. This weapons system has been plagued by cost overruns, technical failures and delays. Many military analysts now consider the F-35 already obsolete, a Cold War relic in a world facing very different threats.
Yet, the Trump administration has raised no concerns. In fact, it’s proposed increasing the Pentagon’s budget by $150 billion this year, funneling even more money into machines of war.
Now contrast that with California’s high-speed rail project: a first-of-its-kind system in the U.S. that’s projected to create tens of thousands of jobs, stimulate billions in economic activity and drastically reduce carbon emissions. Instead of supporting this vision of a cleaner, more connected America, the Trump administration has actively undermined it (“Trump administration sees ‘no viable path’ forward to finish high-speed rail project, moves to pull federal funding,” June 4).
It’s a backward vision: We pour trillions into fighter jets designed to kill, while blocking a transportation system designed to move people, strengthen our economy and protect our planet. Imagine if we invested that $2.1 trillion into a nationwide high-speed rail network, connecting major cities, revitalizing regional economies and leading the world in sustainable infrastructure.
It’s time to rethink our priorities. The California high-speed rail project deserves more support, not less.
Donald Flaherty, Burbank
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To the editor: The fight over high-speed rail is ridiculous. I just returned from three weeks in Japan, a place where bullet trains run the length and breadth of the country and ordinary trains that connect with them go to places the bullet trains don’t. When someone wants to go from Tokyo to Kyoto, they don’t think about flying or driving, they hop on a train. Compared to Japan, it’s as if we’re in the Stone Age when it comes to transportation. Plus, these trains run clean on electricity and don’t spew harmful exhaust fumes.
Murray Zichlinsky, Long Beach
