Liberty is an inherently offensive lifestyle. Living in a free society guarantees that each one of us will see our most cherished principles and beliefs questioned and in some cases mocked. That psychic discomfort is the price we pay for basic civic peace. It's worth it. It's a pragmatic principle. Defend everyone else's rights, because if you don't there is no one to defend yours. -- MaxedOutMama

I don't just want gun rights... I want individual liberty, a culture of self-reliance....I want the whole bloody thing. -- Kim du Toit

The most glaring example of the cognitive dissonance on the left is the concept that human beings are inherently good, yet at the same time cannot be trusted with any kind of weapon, unless the magic fairy dust of government authority gets sprinkled upon them.-- Moshe Ben-David

The cult of the left believes that it is engaged in a great apocalyptic battle with corporations and industrialists for the ownership of the unthinking masses. Its acolytes see themselves as the individuals who have been "liberated" to think for themselves. They make choices. You however are just a member of the unthinking masses. You are not really a person, but only respond to the agendas of your corporate overlords. If you eat too much, it's because corporations make you eat. If you kill, it's because corporations encourage you to buy guns. You are not an individual. You are a social problem. -- Sultan Knish

All politics in this country now is just dress rehearsal for civil war. -- Billy Beck

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Why Does the Government Run the Passenger Rail Service?

Yes, I'm aware of what's going on in the Middle East. I just have nothing to add to that discussion that others aren't doing as well or far better than I could. So I'm going to rant on this rather inconsequential topic instead.

I've got an upcoming business trip to Houston, Texas. I was making my travel arrangements this afternoon, and just for grins & giggles I thought I'd see what a trip via Amtrak would entail. I need to be in Houston August 22 some time in the afternoon, and I depart Houston on the 25th. I checked Amtrak's web site. It seems that I can catch the 1:20 train out of Tucson on the 24th - that is, 1:20AM - and be in Houston on the 25th at 5:45AM!. Then I can catch the 9:50PM train out of Houston, and be back in Tucson on the 26th at 11:25PM! Each direction is over 26 hours.

I can drive to Houston in a little over 15 hours. (And trust me, I was tempted.)

Now, I know the government took over passenger rail service in 1971, and that it's still a viable alternative in the Northeast for commuter service to some of the large cities, but one trip a week from Tucson to Houston? One trip that takes 26+ hours each way, and requires leaving on the red-eye? Why bother? Greyhound takes 21 hours, but at least there's three buses a day leaving for Houston, not one a week.

This is one of those boondoggles that only government can support. A free market would have slashed unnecessary passenger rail service, and made the profitable portions better run. Government control means that waste is rewarded, and inefficiency is rampant.

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