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[quote]QUOTE: Originally posted by jeaton AntiGates, Sorry to break the news to you, but truckers, airlines and barge lines are already making money on your dime. It's OK if you don't want to let anybody else step up to the trough, but rest assured that those guys are not going to see their deal get cut short. And, as I have indicated previously, capacity for those modes comes at a higher price than rail capacity. I will let Mark Hemphill speak for himself, if he wishes to, but I don't see any indication that the Class 1 carriers are making any significant effort to get government subsidies. Speculation that subsidies may be needed tend to come from industry observers who note that the railroads are not generating sufficient ca***o acquire capitol to pay for the capacity improvements necessary for continued growth. That is not something that senior management wants to speak of, as it isn't good for the stock price. So why are railroad in that shape? Maybe the fact that the competition doesn't have to cover their full (public and private) cost has something to do with it. There is perhaps an even larger issue for the railroads. They spent almost a century subject to federal laws that defined and regulated them as a public utility. That didn't work out too bad until the competitive modes started to reap the benefit of government subsidies for infrastructure. At about the end of that period, all of the major carriers in the Northeast were operating in bankruptcy, and the Rock Island flat ran out of money and had to shut down. It boiled down to a choice. If the government felt that railroad service was necessary for the economic welfare of the country, they would either have to cut them loose from the "public utility" requirements or start subsidising. So the choice was to let the railroads essentially "private" entities. And just like Microsoft, the owners or their managers get produce whatever they want to realize their profit. You can complain all you want, but basicly the free enterprise system only leaves you the option to "vote" with your checkbook. [/quote] You are correct, my main thrust is bound inseperably to the philosophy "enough is enough". I may not be able to undo what is done, but, put a fresh plate in front of me, and ask "whadda ya think?"....be prepared for an honest opinion. That's why I've made several referances to the 39% income tax level I wish not to see expand,. I don't "begrudge" the railroads specifically because they are railroads, so much as I do the implicit concept of (further) feathering the nest of ANY entity allowing them to expand their revenue stream, without hard promise of ROI. Merely "kissing the money off" under some pretext of buying Highways back, when I know for a fact (example) that the two interstates paralleling the sunset route are not particularly over burdened,....just seems foolish. Am I a "trucking" fan? NO! Do I prefer highways over railways? Well, I have to admit, ol Uncle Petey isn't gonna let me drive over his dual mainline sunset route if it does get built, taxpayer money or no taxpayer money, so It's hard to answer that question with total objectivity,...but I'll say "no I'm not" To the extent that,...perhaps you've heard about the plans to extend interstate 69 down to Houston? Calling it the "Nafta Highway"? Wouldn't bother me a bit to see that cleverly disguised ploy for Texas to share it's immigration problem with the rest of the nation get the axe, and spend that money designing RR abatement solutions. (rotsa ruck on that one though, it seems that one is seen as someones priority, despite the RR's general views that demand for North-South movement of freight is nill.) Maybe we could spend some of that money reviving the poor poor canal business too? You know the Wabash RR helped bankrupt the state of Indiana years ago by bleeding off traffic from it's newly completed "wabash and erie canal", wheres the "hommage" to the canal people? (sorry about the sarcasm, but I couldn't help it, in this instance it "fits")
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