Just 33% Want Amtrak Subsidies to Continue
Americans like the general idea of investing in infrastructure, but most want to stop underwriting the Amtrak rail service.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 33% of Likely Voters think the government should continue providing subsidies and grants to Amtrak. Fifty-three percent (53%) disagree and say the funding should stop. Last year, Amtrak received about $3 billion in federal underwriting. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
Polling in 2009 found that most voters favor selling Amtrak to private investors as soon as possible.
These results come despite the fact that 54% believe the federal government needs to spend more money on infrastructure projects such as roads, bridges and trains. That argument was recently made by President Obama in his State of the Union address, and just 31% disagree with that sentiment.
(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.
The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on February 10-11, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted byPulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
Related Articles
Rasmussen Reports is a media company specializing in the collection, publication and distribution of public opinion information.
We conduct public opinion polls on a variety of topics to inform our audience on events in the news and other topics of interest. To ensure editorial control and independence, we pay for the polls ourselves and generate revenue through the sale of subscriptions, sponsorships, and advertising. Nightly polling on politics, business and lifestyle topics provides the content to update the Rasmussen Reports web site many times each day. If it's in the news, it's in our polls. Additionally, the data drives a daily update newsletter and various media outlets across the country.
Some information, including the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll and commentaries are available for free to the general public. Subscriptions are available for $4.95 a month or 34.95 a year that provide subscribers with exclusive access to more than 20 stories per week on upcoming elections, consumer confidence, and issues that affect us all. For those who are really into the numbers, Platinum Members can review demographic crosstabs and a full history of our data.
To learn more about our methodology, click here.
