Amtrak is a Non-profit

Well, aside from the fact that I can't recall the last time Amtrak turned a profit, it appears that they are on the list of entitities getting money from the bailout. More precisely, 1.3 billion (with a b). To give you some perspective, the budget for DC Public schools is approximately 740 million dollars (not including charter schools).

From the Amtrak website:

In FY 2008, Amtrak earned approximately $2.45 billion in revenue and incurred approximately $3.38 billion in expense. No country in the world operates a passenger rail system without some form of public support for capital costs and/or operating expenses.

That's a hilarious statement. I did some quick calculations of how much money this is on an individual basis. Admittedly, I suck at math. With 1.3 billion dollars and 28.7 million riders, every rider of Amtrak is getting about $45 taxpayer financed discount on the cost of each ticket they buy this year. Similarly, every man, woman,and child in America has just donated about $4.50 to Amtrak. Speaking as someone who knows multiple people who use Amtrak, I'd rather just give the money directly to my alma mater, TFA, or even the guy who plays music in the metro and get the tax deduction.