Posted on 01/03/2018 9:46:27 AM PST by MNDude
Moving the goalposts fallacy. If this manifests in other US industries, it is just as problematic and has to go; it is also the reason for “offshoring”.
Winning. Not tired yet.
5.56mm
Getting the railroad industry out of the passenger rail business was the best thing that happened to the industry when Conrail and Amtrak were established. As time has gone on, infrastructure limitations have made it increasingly difficult for freight and passenger railroads to operate on the same infrastructure anyway. I've done some work in this area over the years and there are more and more cases where the interaction of freight and passenger service simply doesn't work: (1) superelevation requirements for high-speed passenger trains that exceed the safe tolerances for lateral sway in double-stack intermodal trains, (2) overhead catenary clearances on electrified passenger lines that reduce allowable vertical clearances for freight trains, and (3) time-of-day peaking characteristics for passenger service that doesn't match the operating needs of a freight railroad industry that operates around the clock.
There are no benefits to government regulation. None whatsoever. It keeps a huge swath of the private sector out and keeps cronies in, and it sucks up taxpayer money and borrowed money to stay afloat rather than letting the free market dictate where, what and how much.
I agree with you on this. I'm just not sure how that applies here, since the railroad industry is less regulated today than it has been in decades.
And keep in mind that much of the regulation we still have is not driven by a desire for government control over the railroad industry, but by a need to protect the business interests of railroad customers.
Railroads were not "crony capitalistic" at all, in fact. They were exemplary of the success of the free market—which is why they were one of the first targets of progressives.
Really? Were those railroad employees chasing Indians off the Great Plains, or was that the U.S. Army?
Trains going under the Hudson River are insanely overcrowded. Many trains are standing room only by the time the train is within an hour of Penn Sta. Subway trains that pass under the river resemble sardine cans.
The priority for the NY and NJ state governments is to keep pension payments for retired state workers as high as possible. Everything else takes a back seat to that.
Consolidation in mature industries happens across the board over time -- as a "natural" development, not as a result of government intrusion in the free market. If that's the case, then how does the consolidation of the railroad industry from 30 Class I railroads to five somehow provide evidence of "crony capitalism" or government interference in the free market?
. . . instead of deregulating? Nixon could have done that instead of being a “Keynesian conservative” as he described himself.
Getting the railroad industry out of the passenger rail business was the best thing that happened to the industry when Conrail and Amtrak were established
Eh? How does that even begin to address my comment? Never mind the fact that it brings up yet another Constitutional problem, that of standing armies versus militia of the people.
Were those railroad employees chasing Indians off the Great Plains, or was that the U.S. Army?
Railroads were not “crony capitalistic” at all, in fact. They were exemplary of the success of the free market—which is why they were one of the first targets of progressives.
All those “stimulus” handouts went straight into Soetoro’s and all his buddies’ pockets.
LOL! Forgot the /s tag.
1. How exactly could the government have "deregulated" passenger rail service in the early 1970s in a way that would have enabled the railroad industry to operate passenger service profitably?
2. How many Class I railroads should there be today, instead of the "mere" five you cite in your posts? How would the railroad industry be any different today with your proposed scenario in place?
3. Should railroads be subject to Federal antitrust law?
4. Related to the last question ... Can you think of any industry with such massive fixed capital costs that could ever operate profitably in a "free market" environment?
P.S. — The context of my questions is that the U.S. has the best freight railroad system in the world, hands down. When I deal with railroad executives and engineers from other parts of the world, they are staggered at the size and weight of the trains we move around this country as a matter of course — including over some of the most challenging mountainous terrain you’ll find anywhere. I’m really trying to figure out how anyone would envision improving on what we’ve got.
Now this is winning! Removing the leeches from taking from the rest of us through forced government taxation.
More please and quicker!
JoMa
Oh God, Willie Green who wanted government to force everyone to use light rail regardless of practicality or destination.
My fantasy is that Donald Trump recreates his triumph with the Wollman Rink and just builds the damn thing for a tenth the cost, and sells it to the government.
ATTABOY DONALD!
Just a couple quotes:
"The estimated cost of the Long Island Rail Road project, known as “East Side Access,” has ballooned to $12 billion, or nearly $3.5 billion for each new mile of track — seven times the average elsewhere in the world. The recently completed Second Avenue subway on Manhattan’s Upper East Side and the 2015 extension of the No. 7 line to Hudson Yards also cost far above average, at $2.5 billion and $1.5 billion per mile, respectively."
"New York’s struggles come as transit construction is booming around the world. At least 150 projects have been initiated since 1990, according to a recent study by Yale University researcher David Schleicher........"The approximate average cost of the projects — both in the U.S. and abroad — has been less than $500 million per track mile, the study concluded."
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/28/nyregion/new-york-subway-construction-costs.html
The full article has many details about the costs and the reasons and the excuses.
Yeah, that’s him alright.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.