Her proposed solution is both impossible to fund and impractical to implement, but in her push to propose mass high-speed rail development as a solution, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez correctly diagnoses a problem: namely that expanded highway construction, both in the past and right now, exacerbate racial inequality.

“Construction of highways can have a disproportionate impact on communities of color, from displacement and pollution, and high-speed rail actually connects these communities to greater economic and housing opportunities,” the Bronx congresswoman said.