Morgan Artyukhina, Sputnik news analyst and writer, tells Misfit hosts Bob Schlehuber and Jamarl Thomas that Amtrak was born in crisis, and its financial woes long predate this pandemic. It’s been a punching bag in Congress for politicians who simply hate any kind of public service: witness the constant attacks on the postal service, for example. Now, COVID-19 is providing a very convenient fig leaf for further gutting these services, and media organizations like the Washington Post abet this creeping austerity by reporting these cuts uncritically and ignoring the huge bailouts given, for example, to airlines.