It seems natural to you that the telephone system, railroads, auto manufacturers, airlines, and power companies are privately run; indeed, you can hardly picture things working differently.
Where are these privately-run railroads? The majority shareholder of Amtrak is Uncle Sam. Not only that, but it gets an annual federal grant.
Every railroad I know of other than Amtrak -- in the US it seems freight can hold its own and only passenger rail needs to be subsidized, though a railfan could provide a more trustworthy answer.
(Come to think of it, that right there might be a sign of American culture -- that we think of railroads for freight first, but sometimes have to be reminded that there are passenger trains outside the east coast.)
I didn't know about public power companies here before. Interesting! I've always lived in places where they're regulated monopolies (though Maryland is just starting its experiment with competition on the power market).
I read that one and went "If they are, they damn well shouldn't be!" Crown Corporations NOW! (F*ck deregulation and privatisation!) Yes, I'm utterly hard-core about this. I went to the barricades to try to keep the last provincial government here from selling off the electrical generation/transmission apparatus. (It wasn't theirs to sell, save by referendum!! Sir Sandford Fleming gave it to all of us!)
Pant pant pant wheeze... Ok, I feel better now. Whew! I didn't realize I still had so much buried hostility there.
That Sumerian thing was the funniest thing I've read all day, and probably will be the funniest thing I'll read all day, which means I've only just gotten up and it's all downhill from here. (Unless of course Nave gets online again...)
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Where are these privately-run railroads? The majority shareholder of Amtrak is Uncle Sam. Not only that, but it gets an annual federal grant.
(And there's plenty of public power companies around the place...)
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Every railroad I know of other than Amtrak -- in the US it seems freight can hold its own and only passenger rail needs to be subsidized, though a railfan could provide a more trustworthy answer.
(Come to think of it, that right there might be a sign of American culture -- that we think of railroads for freight first, but sometimes have to be reminded that there are passenger trains outside the east coast.)
I didn't know about public power companies here before. Interesting! I've always lived in places where they're regulated monopolies (though Maryland is just starting its experiment with competition on the power market).
(no subject)
(no subject)
Being a Canadian...
Pant pant pant wheeze... Ok, I feel better now. Whew! I didn't realize I still had so much buried hostility there.
That Sumerian thing was the funniest thing I've read all day, and probably will be the funniest thing I'll read all day, which means I've only just gotten up and it's all downhill from here. (Unless of course Nave gets online again...)