You have this exactly backwards.
[WS:] No. I have it exactly straightforward. The fundamental reason why people would rather fly between DC and NYC than take Acela is the price. It costs almost $300 to ride the Acela, and about $100-$150 to fly. And the main reason behind those price differences is how government subsidies are allocated. If that is not politics, I do not know what is.
BTW, there is no transportation system in the world that is not subsidized, even the Chinatown bus ($35 round trip from DC to NYC). The only question is how those subsidies are allocated. In the US it is the matter of the best government money can buy. Private carriers can afford buying a lot of government, but the public transit systems are not in the position to buy much of it. Ergo, private carriers get all perks and subsidies they can dream of, whereas public transit companies must struggle for every dime.
This is fucking America, man. It has always been that way. Private is beautiful, public is for the birds (and the poor.) Why pretending it is otherwise?
Wojtek