MIKE GRAVEL UNDERSTOOD SUNK COSTS.

The point is important enough not to be lost among a flurry of Friday short takes. “You know what’s worse than a soldier dying in vain is more soldiers dying in vain.”  The senator was objecting to continuing military action in Vietnam. "Gravel understood that continuing a war because we have already invested a lot will not bring back the dead or honor the fallen." The principle generalizes.  It's whether additional resources committed, at the margin, are effective or not.  "People can argue about what these future costs and benefits are, and how much they are, but blood spilled in the past should not determine future actions."

The same thing is true about attempting to salvage investments in railways to nowhere.  "Sometimes, it is efficient to cut your losses."  Not that Molders of Opinion are about intellectual clarity.