If the government were to remove the phones, the transportation, the energy, the subsidies, it would dry up.

NEWYORKER: The Party Faithful

The Russian Far East depended on subsidies, notably cheap transportation costs, to survive.

FORBES: Issues & Ideas

"Passenger rail service, especially services at higher and high speeds, will require new safety rules, constant public capital investment and operating subsidies, and balance with freight rail service and the rest of the national transportation system -- and currently only some of these elements are in place, " according to a GAO report.

CNN: Is the U.S. turning a corner on high-speed rail?