Why Doesn't The United States Have High-Speed Bullet Trains Like Europe And Asia?

Why doesn't the United States have high-speed bullet trains like Europe and Asia? originally appeared on Quora: the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world. First, let me state that I am a huge fan of high-speed rail. My first experience with high-speed rail was on Taiwan's high-speed rail line in 2008 which shortened the time it took to traverse the island from five hours to two. My second was on my honeymoon when my wife and I traversed continental Europe on its clean and efficient high-speed rail network. It kills me to think that for the amount of money and resources we have spent on the second Iraq war, we could have built the backbone of a nationwide high-speed rail network and subsidized its use for a number of years while it ramped up to optimal capacity.