No mention of Amalgamated Switch and Signal or Rearden Steel.
$ http://www.reardensteel.com --- In [email protected], Rick Gaber <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Life Imitates Fiction at Amtrak: Shades of Atlas Shrugged's > Taggart Transcontinental Railroad > by Joseph Vranich > > Millions of people have read Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged and > marveled at her fictional portrayals of the badly run > Taggart Transcontinental Railroad and a statist national > government. Today, as Congress considers showering Amtrak > with higher subsidies, it's time to recognize the striking > parallels between the novelist's railroad and the > dysfunctional Amtrak system. > > Rand's account is hauntingly current. In her novel, Taggart > Transcontinental Railroad ran nearly empty trains on rural > routes as a matter of "public equality." If one state had > trains then, by gosh, another had to have them, too, no > matter how much money they lost. Today, Amtrak runs trains > like the Southwest Chief between Chicago and Los Angeles > whose financial loss is so great that it requires a federal > subsidy of $420 per passenger. It's cheaper for taxpayers to > buy airline tickets and give them to these Amtrak passengers > than to preserve the train. > > Last year Amtrak lost more than $908 million on its 15 long > distance routes, which could easily be cut since more than > 50 percent of Amtrak passengers ride on just ten percent of > the system. > > In Atlas Shrugged, "good-hearted" politicians financed the > continuation of lightly used trains by shortchanging > maintenance on heavily used infrastructure. When such > policies contributed to the collapse of the Taggart Tunnel, > a key link, the Taggart Transcontinental Railroad came to a > halt. Similarly, Amtrak allocates capital to frivolous > projects while being painfully slow over three decades in > correcting safety shortcomings in its Manhattan tunnels, the > busiest in the country. U.S. DOT Inspector General Ken Mead > concluded that it's unacceptable for Amtrak to budget > millions of dollars to repair sleeper cars for long-distance > trains while under-investing in strategic fixed assets. > > In her novel, Taggart Transcontinental Railroad employees > believed they had a "right" to jobs regardless of the > economic insignificance of their work. Again life imitates > fiction at Amtrak. If train service is discontinued > completely on a route, a severance package provides many > employees with full salary for five years. Amtrak's > job-protection absurdity is unparalleled in other > industries. > > The national government in Rand's novel, hostile to > capitalism and property rights, permitted the Taggart > Transcontinental to run over other companies' tracks without > paying proper fees. Congress has long empowered Amtrak to > operate over tracks of the freight railroads and pay far > less than commercial rates. This despite the fact that its > trains often interfere with freight operations and add to > delays, which cheats shareholders of the track-owning > companies. The Union Pacific Railroad said that Amtrak > underpays by $60-70 million annually for using its > facilities. Incidentally, even publicly sponsored commuter > railroads like Metra in Chicago pay acceptable, negotiated > rates to U.S. freight railroads, further proof that the > mandated discounts for Amtrak are an unfair bargain. > > After more than $27 billion in federal subsidies to Amtrak > another Congressional bailout will only perpetuate Amtrak > and its deplorable management. We need to get rid of > market-irrelevant routes and open remaining lines to > competitive bids from private companies that specialize in > contracting-out for services. > > Ayn Rand had the uncommon sense of exposing large truths. We > can see today that ill-conceived, politically motivated > projects failed on both the mythical Taggart > Transcontinental and the real Amtrak. I'd support someone > who held Rand's views for Congress. Her opposition to > government handouts would offset radical spenders who want > to increase Amtrak subsidies when they should be dismantling > the hopeless organization > > -- from http://www.capmag.com/article.asp?ID=4422 > > >>>>>>>>>>>>>> > > I submit that it is WAY more than just the the railroad > where life imitates Atlas Shrugged. > http://FreedomKeys.com/gummint.htm > > http://www.freedomkeys.com/booklists.htm > > <<<<<<<<<<<<<< > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Fair play? Video games influencing politics. Click and talk back! http://us.click.yahoo.com/VpgUKB/pzNLAA/cUmLAA/KlSolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> ForumWebSiteAt http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Libertarian Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Libertarian/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
