Edit post

Edit your reply below.

Post Body
Enter your post below.
[quote user="schlimm"] Bucyrus:  I understand you are opposed to HSR because you prefer the federal government to not be involved in programs that compete with the private sector.  That is a philosophical position about the role of government that is a reasonable one, although I do not agree.  However, your argument is greatly weakened by your suggestion that HSR is a costly mistake or boondoggle.   Definitions of boondoggle:  1. a wasteful or impractical project or activity often involving graft.   2. a project funded by the federal government out of political favoritism that is of no real value to the community or the nation.  3.  a scheme that wastes time and money. <div class="dndata"></div> If you had ever actually used such a service in countries like France or Germany that have it, you would see that it is a valuable, essential and very popular service, hardly a boondoggle. <div style="clear:both;"></div> [/quote] schlimm, Well, boondoggle is just something that tends to gravitate toward public sector projects rather than private sector projects.  It is the natural consequence of bureaucratic empire building, the pull of unions, and the expenditure of public funds.  And also, if a boondoggle occurs, and yet does not kill a project, it is not necessarily evident in the final performance of the project.  So European HSR would be capable of impressing the users with its service and usefulness, while at the same time, be bleeding the funds of the population through the shortfall of what it cost to build and operate versus what it takes in through fares.  So I don’t use the term boondoggle to be inflammatory, but only to identify a trend that generally attaches to public sector work.  But perhaps there is a larger concern, in that you seem to misunderstand the reason behind my view on government projects versus private sector projects.  I am not concerned about the public sector competing with the private sector.  In other words, I am not concerned about the government depriving the private sector of work projects.  I think that that sort of injury to the private sector is self-limiting in that the government only tends to take on work that the private sector has already determined to be a non-viable investment. The real point of my concern about public versus private sector is that the public sector is not just a neutral entity that objectively does only what needs to be done to serve the public, as way too many people believe.  Instead, the public sector has its own self-motivation just like any corporation does.  So they will actively seek to promote and build railroads and other projects whether they are needed or not.  In that regard, they have everything to gain and nothing to lose.  The private sector does not enjoy that same luxury.  So my concern is about the public sector competing with the public, and not about the public sector competing with private sector business.
Tags (Optional)
Tags are keywords that get attached to your post. They are used to categorize your submission and make it easier to search for. To add tags to your post type a tag into the box below and click the "Add Tag" button.
Add Tag