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On a Long Train Trip, Rare Pleasures Return
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<p>[quote user="daveklepper"]</p> <p>I think the comparison with the local library is useful and informative . A transcontinental train trip for those who have not done it already is quite an education in the geography, economy, and even the population of the United States. an education that can also be had with far greater discomfort by a transcontinental bus trip. or possibly as a passenger, but not a driver, on a transcontinental auto trip. And, continuing the comparison, only a minority of the people in a given location use the public library, actually a very small minority. (Geting to know the population is helped by friendly conversations with new friends in the dining and lounge cars.) Further, is the public library really necessary with Google and the Internet and Wikepedia? I think it is. And most people in a neighborhood would agree:</p> <p>I may never use it but I would fight to keep it open. [/quote]</p> <p>A public library is not a commercial enterprise. It does not sell (commercialize) information, i.e. books, music, internet services, etc. as a regular line of business. Amtrak is a commercial enterprise. It competes with airlines, bus companies, personal vehicles, etc. Comparing the two is to compare apples and oranges.</p> <p>It is in the "public interest" is used by every proponent of an activity or cause that cannot sustain itself in the market place. If the users won't pay for it, lets fob it off on the taxpayers. Whether its Amtrak, subsidized crop insurance, public power, symphony orchestras, etc., it is only a little bit more money and it is in the public interest is the clarion call of those seeking to raid the public trough.</p> <p>Amtrak is not the worst example. The owners of the professional sports teams in Texas, at least, have used the public interest argument to wring billions of dollars out of local taxpayers to build sports venues. Many of the taxpayers cannot afford to attend the sporting events played in the public interest venues or have no interest in doing so.</p> <p>It is in the public interest is one of the reasons, albeit not the only reason, why the U.S. national debt is more than $15 trillion. This figure does not include massive unfunded federal liabilities or state and local debt.</p>
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