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From: jonw@tekmdp.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.politics
Subject: Re: State run enterprises
Message-ID: <2029@tekmdp.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 15-Jun-83 15:31:48 EDT
Article-I.D.: tekmdp.2029
Posted: Wed Jun 15 15:31:48 1983
Date-Received: Fri, 17-Jun-83 06:10:43 EDT
Lines: 41


Zig has reminded me of another problem with our capitalist system in practice:

   ...an enterprise like a railroad, a health service, a coal mine or 
   whatever that cannot be run at a profit should not be run at all... 
   Why are railroads a priori good? Why should big cities be subsidized,
   when they breed so much crime and pollution? If we stopped backing these
   crippled horses we might be richer and have a cleaner envioronment (sic) 
   as well.

In other words, in the capitalist system, anything that cannot survive in the
current market deserves to die.  This principle might almost be reasonable, if
it were only applied consistently across the board.

To address Zig's example of the railroads -- the reason why railroads are
"a priori good" is they are far and above the most efficient means of land
transportation.  A train uses one sixth the energy and produces one sixth the
pollution that a truck does for the same freight haulage.  Also, it requires
about 3.6 times more energy to produce the materials necessary for a highway
than for a railroad track accommodating comparable traffic.  Finally, a highway 
takes up about a 400 feet right of way, while a railroad takes up only 100 feet.

It should be obvious that trains are inherently more efficient and cause much
less environmental impact, but for some reason trucks have steadily been
displacing trains since WWII.  Part of the reason must have something to do
with the enormous costs of building and maintaining private railroad tracks.
Trucks are able to use the public roads at little cost.  Yes, I know that
truckers pay road taxes, but the money is not even enough to pay for the road
damage they cause.  This amounts to nothing other than a public subsidy for
truckers.

If the public is going to subsidize one form of transportation over another,
then we might as well put our money where it is going to do us the most good in
the long run.

						Jon White
						Tektronix
						Aloha, Ore

P.S. Please, no flames about how a train will never be able to deliver frozen
apple pie to your local Safeway -- I realize that trucks have their place.