The problem isn’t the money. Its that the money coming from fares doesn’t cover the track maintenance. Besides, my point is not the cost because you’re right on that part, but rather that…
The cost is probably due to lower ridership than needed to make the line useful rather than wasteful.
High speed rail lines are bad at low density nations/regions. So, like a fish in the air versus a panda in the air, neither rail lines nor highways actually function well in that situation, though highways are pretty crappy no matter what. The best solution is actually rural mechanization/electrification and an increase in urbanization, which - despite international impressions - has barely been done in China in favor of keeping the remaining impoverished people poor.
Believe me, I’m aware the money isn’t the point, I’m saying that if you institute a government, even a communist one, you shouldn’t completely ignore the currency someone has on hand or spends anymore than you should rely solely on the currency someone has or spends as the primary or only measure of their importance.
A penny versus a dollar should not define the people carrying them, but the person can usually influence the world using them, and whether you’re a selfish or benevolent bureaucrat, the ability to know what kind of influence a person is likely to exert is the entire reason we are having to discuss politics with a degree of edge in the first place; Our leadership has access to that information and STILL aren’t using it to fix things instead of filling their pockets, therefore each of us is unsatisfied. I think everyone who’s posed in this thread can at least agree on that, considering this is Lemmy.