Following up on those huge fare increases by Amtrak, I’ve discovered some facts and also today’s trivia. Not that long ago, there were seventy railroad companies in the USA. Today there are four. All four appear to specialize in two things: moving freight and using monopolistic power to raise prices. Yes, prices have gone up as much as 300% in the past few years.It turns out, the railroads are highly regulated but also exempt from anti-trust measures. They are allowed a fixed profit above variable costs. That, plus the fact most American towns are served by only one railroad, is a formula for manipulation. I also came across some facts about those diesel electric engines.
The constant speed diesel drives a generator which drives the traction wheels. This combination is so efficient, the last steam locomotive factory closed by 1950. The maintenance costs dropped by 90% and the diesel spends 90% of its time hauling, as opposed to less than 50% for steam. I learned the electric drives can be couple together, allowing one crew to control any number of engines.
On the side of the companies, I will concede that railroads cost a lot of money to maintain, as in billions per year. All the roadbeds are old and decaying because it costs too much to build new railroads, a major barrier to the rapid transit we’d all like to see. My plan to ride the “City of New Orleans” is stalled for lack of a way to get to New Orleans. Residents of Florida are surprisingly immobile.
Just so you know, I’m up $505. No details, but when I did the “Nashville” books, I got an unexpected refund and the cash was in my account this morning. As you can imagine, in these terrible times, this puts things weeks ahead of schedule. I called an emergency meeting of the club and nine point five hours from now, we leave for Sarasota. With a full gas tank, oil, and twenty times what we need to get back.
That situation reflects my philosophy. I’m not saying there is anything wrong with busting your behind. It isn’t for me. I knew early in life I never stood a chance, so I worked only as much as needed to attain a certain comfort level. But yes, I still have to budget to have nice things. Any joker with a credit card can have what I have—except the lifestyle to fully enjoy it. Those damn credit cards eventually want their money back.
What brought this on was a conversation I had with a teller at my bank, someone I’ve not known, but recognized, for ten-ish years. In an Enron-esque scenario, she told me how thousands of WAMU employees woke up one day to discover their retirement stock option had been converted to Chase shares. Ouch. Which excavates another distant situation from my working days. Read on.
Al, a co-worker from my cubicle days, updates to me the situation at my old job, the heavily-mentioned phone company. It is close to what I predicted 1996-wise. The union played tough (a strike) in 2005 after years of chintzy raises and promises. The result was outsourcing that gutted the remaining talent. I could vouch for that, it was so clear that the company’s focus was short term profit and a hiring/promotion policy which manifestly favored persons who fit the company mold—and nepotism to disgusting degree, although, considering the way they do business, nepotism was arguably the best choice they've left themselves.
Al and I talked a half-hour today, after a gap of 15 odd years. Like myself, he left the phone company, and from what I understand, for similar reasons. Like lack of opportunity based on talent. (He reports that only the most obvious “management” candidates survived the 2005 strike, no names mentioned.) I don’t know the details. But I doubt any of them [who stayed with that company] had the resources to reach beyond their own circles and lifetimes. I’ve already written the best stab many such persons ever have at immortality is what I write about them here. Any disagreement? What? Louder! I can’t hear you.
