As much as I would like to see this thread end, I'm not sure this
information is true.
There is a fair amount of evidence (though there is some controversy
around it) that private enterprise, not the state, killed the
streetcar. Specifically, GM, Standard Oil, and a few other companies
were accused of conspiring to do so--why? so that they could create
more demand for internal combustion engine vehicles--automobiles and
buses. You can see the film "Taken for a Ride" for the story, or
google Branford Snell's name and you'll get some of the controversy.
The point being: in countries like ours, two groups of people make
decisions that affect everybody: government and business. Government
is accountable to the people through the voting process; business is
accountable to the people through the market. While there are many
examples of businesses responding to consumer demand, there are just
as many, or perhaps more, examples of businesses shaping consumer
demand (ever heard of a thing called advertising?). As one's ability
to shape society with your dollar bills is limited, government is
about the only other mechanism available in which ordinary people
COULD theoretically make a difference.
If you remove government from the urban planning process, you end up
with companies like GM basically doing urban planning. In short,
somebody has to do it. Do you feel comfortable leaving it up to "the
market," knowing that "the market" basically just means millionaires
in this context?
Peter
p.s. Schwinn definitely influenced modern bicycling, but I'd guess GM
and Ford probably influenced it just as much.
On Nov 5, 2007, at 12:48 PM, Eric Westhagen wrote:
Dear Group,
Again, today, there are links from "bikies" contributors about "mass
transit." Personally, I cross the country by train and have not flown
for years. But suggesting that THE STATE is the solution to a shift
toward mass transit flies in the face of fact and history. At every
turn it is the government which killed off mass-transit. How can one
have blind faith that matters will be different? It is the MASS of
people who demand a mode of transport and government either follows
the
MASS for votes or certain other interests with power.
Who killed off streetcars with unfair taxes and road repair
requirements
in favor of gassy buses? ---government. And in my time we still had
rail passenger service in Wisconsin. But the people spoke against
that
service and refused to ride if they could drive. Railroads were
required to follow a lengthy regulation process to drop the unwanted
services so they ran empty trains for years. Two such trains served
Ripon. One went all the way to Milwaukee and the other ran from
Fond du
Lac and NW. Old railmen, high on their union bump list would play
cards
in the coach in the empty car.
We are now seeing a rebirth of rail for freight in Wisconsin.
There is
a need. That way should precede mass passenger transit if it is to
succeed. I know that the contributors to "bikies" would like
GOVERNMENT
to follow their advice or pressure and demands that people leave their
cars at home and ride the rail. That will happen when the roads
become
so saturated that people CHOOSE RAIL. Then the same enterprisers who
have revived Wisconsin rail will fill the need if it exists. But how
can regional committee planners make this happen. Remember the money
pot is only so large at the PUBLIC trough. The current budget
crisis is
an example that the "game" squeezes education rather than cut the
"pets"
of the advocates.
Eric
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