I don't think it's a really smart move. Short term, yes it will save the federal government a few bucks. But in the long run not building the railway could very well prove a stupid move.
Why is Japan technologically superior to both the US and Europe? Because they have invested in development from very early on. They started building high-speed railways in the mid-sixties, and ever since their technological level has been continuously increasing. More than "The West", where we kind of leveled off our development by spending less money on it.
And that's exactly why Asia (with Japan as development center and China as production center) will be the new world leaders, both economically and technologically, instead of the US and Europe.
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