An Opinion By Frank N. Wilner, Capitol Hill Contributing Editor, Railway Age Magazine; July 9, 2018
Watching Washington, July 2018: When everybody owns something, nobody accepts accountability or responsibility. Such is the circumstance of Amtrak, a near-50- year-old orphan wandering in a public policy wilderness, dependent on grudgingly provided public assistance often provided with conditions and objectives so conflicted as to suggest a Marx Brothers comedy. 
Although created as a “for-profit” corporation, Amtrak instead has absorbed some $41 billion in federal subsidies since its creation in 1971. In 1978, the policy deceit evident, Congress redirected Amtrak to be “operated and managed” as if it were a for-profit corporation.
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