This was satire, right? 

I dare him or any conservative/libertarian to show me a wealthy and successful country where there is not a strong centralized or federal government. 

Yes, this country is successful at least in part due to a strong federal government. If you don't believe me, let's compare the governments of the powerful industrialized countries and the third world, poverty stricken ones. And then look to see which has the weaker federal government. 

People like Steve simply don't want to admit their world view doesn't actually match reality. The issue isn't too much spent on public transportation, it's too little. How many of us would LOVE to have high-speed rail along the west coast? I'd rather take it than drive my car.