We need both. High speed is vital for intercity travel, especially cities that people often drive to. Seattle to Portland to San Francisco to Los Angeles for example would cut down on a lot of drives and quite a few flights.

But we also need regular public transit, and the Seattle area is a great example of a part of the country moving in the right direction on that. Though they're focused on connecting suburbs and cometropolitan cities when they also need a subway. But you only have so much money…