Government Should Just Butt Out!
Yeah, sure … NARP is happy with a lot of what’s in the so-called FAST Act, the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act, the bill that’s just come out of conference committee. There’s more money for Amtrak and it’s a five-year commitment … both good and both important, assuming it’s approved by both houses and eventually becomes law.
But there is a fundamental problem that isn’t going away. It is, in fact, getting worse. It’s Congress telling Amtrak how it should be conducting its business.
No, wait … it’s much worse than that: It’s government actually passing laws requiring the railroad to adopt certain policies that are not necessarily in the best interest of the railroad or of its passengers. And it’s Congress passing a law that requires Amtrak to reduce its expenses, then passing another law that increases Amtrak’s operating costs, thus making it even more difficult for Amtrak to meet the goal set by the first law!
Case in point: Republican Congressman Jeff Denham of California, who tacked an amendment onto a funding bill last year that requires Amtrak to allow passengers to bring their pets on board. What prompted this new law? Congressman Denham wanted to take a short train ride and found he couldn’t bring his pet bulldog along. So he got a law passed that says he can!
(This does bring to mind Mel Brook’s line in A History of the World-Part I: “It’s good to be the king!”)
The new law also mandates that within five years Amtrak must eliminate operating losses associated with its food and beverage service. At the same time, this very same law requires Amtrak to initiate a pilot project to serve local foods and beverages aboard certain trains. Great idea! But what if it increases food service losses, putting this Congressional mandate in conflict with the stop-losing-money mandate?
Personally, I find it amazing that these people—stalwart champions of private enterprise, one and all—don’t see the fundamental flaw in all this: running a national passenger rail network over tracks you don’t own is hard enough without politicians stepping in once every year and telling you what your budget is and micromanaging your business.
It’s no way to run a railroad.
Unfortunately, we are stuck with a Congress that lacks an institutional memory, that is of the lobbyists, by the lobbyists, and for the lobbyists, and a Congress that forgot what Speaker Rayburn once said, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!” This political class gives new meaning to the concept of free enterprise. Indeed, it should not be surprising these same politicos working with lobbyists and accepting their carpet bags of cash–like from the pharmaceutical firms who have succeeded in re-defining the free market as one they have a guaranteed monopoly on the pricing of their drugs.
Rep. Denham is the poster child of this self-serivng mentality that embraces a political class “Animal Farm” vision. If he was truly involved in a positive manner re rail transportation, we could possibly forgive his intrusive action. But he doesn’t give one damn about the users of Amtrak, other than his dog. Too bad nobody at Amtrak told him they’re too busy responding to other congressional edicts to waste time on dog policies.
On that note, given the vast amount of public funding for airline infrastructure to sustain their operations, were is the equivalent rancor from Capitol Hill re airlines selling/trading their gates or take-off slots as if they actually owned them? Other than in respect to the power of well-heeled, and high-heeled, lobbyists, why has Congress not moved to tax the $6+ Billion in revenues derived by airlines for their ancillary fees (e.g., luggage, seats,meals)? Why does Congress continue to tolerate the physical abusiveness of airlines directed towards their coach passengers re the inappropriate seats and distance between seats, quality of air, etc. I am surprised Congress has not reacted to the invasion of First Class by coach passengers seeking another bathroom.
As well, given the investment of public funds, where is Congress not to bellyache over the free loading of municipal streets by the various “Chinatown knockoff” curbside bus services (e.g., Megabus, Bolt, etc)?
Pogo was right–“we have met the enemy and it is us!” Consumer advocates, media, etc can no longer remain silent, or act proper and discreet to attack this egregious issue that has paralyzed, distorted, and derailed the role of the passenger train.