[GonzoGOP]

take that "head over to DU" routine and cram it.. It's intellectually shallow and adolescent and reflects your inability to actually discuss the issue.

The railroads were built as a free enterprise system and when allowed to operate as such have overwhelmingly worked well. Every time the government has become involved they have made the system worse. From the USRA nationalization of 1917 to the Amtrak abomination of 1971. Each time the government, who you seem to think should control all transportation systems, has become involved the physical plant has deteriorated, the service has declined, and ironically tax revenue has dropped. The railroads almost went bust until Staggers Rail Act of 1980 deregulated them. That allowed the railroads to abandon unprofitable and under utilized lines and to increase their prices to meet operating expenses. When given the choice between the policies of progressive socialism (USRA) and free market capitalism (Staggers Act) I tend to go with the latter. Apparently that makes me a newbie in your eyes.

The reason Amtrak is such a disaster is that the Government, that again you are claiming should have control over all transportation, forces them to continue service to locations that don't create sufficient traffic and does not allow Amtrak to raise fairs to cover operating expenses. Maintaining stops in key congressional districts is more important to Amtrak than is maintaining an efficient service. I would prefer private and efficient ownership of transportation over any government run transportation system.

As for your quote "We the People are NOT a bunch of serfs living under a feudal aristocracy who must pay tolls to the landed gentry." The railway companies built the lines, the railroad companies operate the lines, if you want to use the transportation system that they built and maintained you should be prepared to pay the price they demand. Or you can walk or build your own railway.

[John S Mosby]

There are lots of things you say that I agree with. But, the railroads were NOT and are no longer free enterprise. They were part of the monopoly empire building of the Gilded Age. Please. Cornelius Vanderbilt I was a rags to riches guy, but eventually he supped at the government table and no one would say that he wouldn’t use the Union Army for his personal business needs. All the while saying the “the public be damned” whenever he wanted to. An interesting read is a biography of old Cornelius, that and of one William Walker and the Filibusters, who fought Cornelius with a private army and took over the country of Nicaragua. A study in “free” enterprise, and fascinating.

[Willie Green]

The railroads were built as a free enterprise system and

...and were all subsidized with government land grants for the right-of-way.

As for your quote "We the People are NOT a bunch of serfs living under a feudal aristocracy who must pay tolls to the landed gentry." The railway companies built the lines, the railroad companies operate the lines, if you want to use the transportation system that they built and maintained you should be prepared to pay the price they demand.

What's so difficult about understanding the difference between "We the People" and "We the Stockholders"???

When push comes to shove, it is We the People who are sovereign.

Railroads and other corporations are not people, and their so-called "rights" are inferior to the rights of We the People. Along with rights go responsibilities. And corporate shareholders gave up their collective individual property rights when they incorporated, in exhange for the privilege of limited personal liability.

Keep that in mind, Gonzo... We the People are sovereign, not Wall St.