To the editor: It is projected that the pentagon spends An amazing $ 2.1 billion In the F-35 Fighter Jet program. This weapons system has been plagued by excess costs, technical failures and delays. Many military analysts now consider the F-35 already obsolete, a cold war relic in a world that faces very different threats.
However, the Trump administration has not raised concerns. In fact, it is intended to increase the Pentagon Budget for $ 150 billion this yearchanneling even more money on war machines.
Now it contrasts with the California High Speed Railway Project: a first type system in the US Tens of thousands of jobsstimulate thousands of millions in economic activity and drastically reduce carbon emissions. Instead of supporting this vision of a cleaner and more connected America, the Trump administration has actively undermined (“The Trump administration does not see 'without viable path' forward to finish the high -speed rail project, it moves to extract federal funds.” June 4).
It is a vision back: we pour billions in combat planes designed to kill, while blocking a transport system designed to move people, strengthen our economy and protect our planet. Imagine if we inverted those $ 2.1 billion in a high -speed rail network throughout the country, connecting the main cities, revitalizing regional economies and leading the world in sustainable infrastructure.
It is time to rethink our priorities. California's high -speed rail project deserves more support, no less.
Donald Flaherty, Burbank
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To the editor: The fight for the high -speed rail is ridiculous. I just returned three weeks in Japan, a place where bullet trains run the length and amplitude of the country and the common trains that connect with them go to the places that bullet trains do not do. When someone wants to go from Tokyo to Kyoto, he does not think about flying or driving, they get on a train. Compared to Japan, it is as if we were in the stone age when it comes to transport. In addition, these trains work with electricity and do not throw harmful escape gases.
Murray Zichlinsky, Long Beach
