Gary Leff reports on a new Amtrak program whereby those who join the National Association of Railroad Passengers, a D.C.-based “advocacy organization” that supports greater Amtrak subsidies, get special discounts on Amtrak tickets. Leff comments:
Whatever you think of government funding for train travel in the United States, is it problematic that a government corporation will give people discounts if they pay to join an organization that will lobby the government for more subsidies?
Put another way, Americans who pay to support more subsidies get charged less to travel on subsidized trains than those who oppose the subsidies.
Cross-posted at the Volokh Conspiracy.