Richard Nixon forced the merger of two railroads and then subsequently moved to subsidize them and force them to nationalization. The promise was, back in the 70's, that the need to rescue the railroads would be temporary and that once the government got them back on their feet and profitable, the assets would be sold off.
How did that work? Well 40 years later Amtrak still exists and operating at a loss...and you pay for it whether you ride the train or not. Because of lobbyists (who now are paid by federal money) legislation has made it illegal to compete with Amtrak...ensuring no profitable passenger train company will ever exist in this nation.
Like Amtrak, GM now has their employees paid with federal dollars...including their lobbyists. You are going to begin paying for lobbyists with your tax dollars to go to Washington and make sure that GM gets more of your dollars. They will never have to be profitable again...and with constant lobbying pressure it could become illegal some day to sell a car for less than a GM car.
I'm skeptical that GM will ever be turned back over to the private marketplace once it exists under protective umbrella of government force and coercion.
Have a good weekend!
1 comment:
versus air travel, there is no reason to ride amtrak.
its not cheaper, and it takes longer.
i've looked into it. bad deal all around.
Post a Comment