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Happy 80th Birthday, Empire Builder!
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<P mce_keep="true">[quote user="schlimm"] <P>I rather wonder why folks like sam1 participate in these forums? [/quote]</P> <P mce_keep="true">According to Webster's Desk Dictionary and Style Guide, a forum is 1) the public square of an ancient Roman City and 2) an assemble, program, etc. for the discussion of public matters. No where in the definition is there a requirement that the participants hew to the majority view to participate. </P> <P mce_keep="true"><I>Trains</I> have a comprehensive set of rules for its forum participants. They do not require participants to agree with the majority opinions or refrain from iconoclastic views.</P> <P mce_keep="true">Competitive markets remain the best way to allocate scarce economic resources. Left to their own devices, they would not take into consideration many if not most societal values, i.e. environment quality, consumer protection, etc. That's why they require smart, albeit not crushing, regulation. </P> <P mce_keep="true">I began my career with an investor owned electric utility that was a regulated monopoly. It looked like a government agency, walked like a government agency, and talked like one. The waste was unbelievable, because no one had any incentive to do things better, faster, cheaper. Then competition came to the electric utility market in Texas. And the winds of change blew strong. Amongst the first things that they blew out was most of the waste, including thousands of people who could or would not adapt to a competitive environment. This is what competitive markets do.</P> <P mce_keep="true">Free markets are not a panacea. They are just much better than the alternative. And this is true for all forms of commercial transport if the politicians would just take their hands off of it. Fat chance!</P>
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