This automatically favors freight, since a great deal of passenger travel is both spontaneous AND time-sensitive: a passenger wants a train to be there for him within minutes of arriving at a station, and for this to be true no matter what time he arrives there.
-
-
...and also that in all cases, the customers who are most capable of paying are asked to pay the least, while those who are least able to pay have to make up the difference. Does any of this sound like a familiar mentality to you?
Show this thread -
"...for a moment it seemed...the enemy would be crushed, as if the fortress, representing a capital of [2 billion] sterling, commanded by the best brains of the nation, protected by press and legislatures, but...a stronghold of tyranny, injustice and corruption, would perish..."pic.twitter.com/gM010b4O60
Show this thread -
Remember what I said at the start of this thread? Here you can see it in action: every railroad somehow thought they were the only ones smart enough to cheat, and they believed this for so long that they very nearly drove themselves out of business.pic.twitter.com/lm1E5Kw9Fb
Show this thread -
When they finally figured out they were gonna be ruined by racing to the bottom, railways elected instead to collaborate and extort high fares. Anything but run an honest business! America doesn't value hard work so much as it values getting paid, and this has long been the case.pic.twitter.com/FSLL3kez50
Show this thread -
And with that, I'll set the book aside for today. More installments in the future. The psychosis which is present in many American industries even today manifested in spectacular form during the railroad era, leaving a permanent bad impression...
Show this thread -
...but rather than going after the mentality, Americans found it easier to get rid of the particular expression of it. It was easier for us to give up on railways than to admit that there might be a wrong way to make a buck.
Show this thread
End of conversation
New conversation -
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.