re: Privatizing Amtrak

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Post office would be well profitable if republicans would stop intentionally sabota

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Explain

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that's why I said the New York DC corridor might be viable.

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From NYC to DC is faster on the train due to traffic getting to the airport, security and then getting from the destination airport to town.

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When has privatization ever decreased costs?

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Launching satellites.

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There is about 100 years of Econ research that finds govt run enterprises are costlier than private enterprise

Now, that isnt to argue that privatization is always the answer, but “decreasing costs” is not the reason for public ownership. Market failure is the reason for public enterprise

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My hunch is a higher degree of exploitation of labor is usually the reason private enterprises can be cheaper. Not common in office jobs like any of us posting during a break at work but it does exist at times. Crunch in software development whereas government has pretty strict hour restrictions. Exploitation more common the further down the hierarchy though. Like, say, using illegal immigrants to pick your tomatoes because you can pay them under the table avoiding various overheads and taxes related to a real, legal employee. However, I do agree that essentially government functions that cannot or should not be privatized exist because price signals/profit motivations would not select for the function despite it being a public good.

I think Amtrak has problems that are pretty systemic and unlikely to be fixed by privatization. Passenger rail needs to be faster and it can't when freight always has priority. The only way high-speed rail is going to happen - and it clearly does with all these air traffic problems - is by significant investment in passenger rail only lines. I don't think the private sector is up to the task because that is essentially a second Eisenhower Interstate Highway System in scope.

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privatization ever decreased costs

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Quite often. However, they aren't subsidized to keep price lower

The Republican passed Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 required the USPS to create a $72 billion fund to pay for the cost of its post-retirement health care costs, 75 years into the future. This burden applied to no other federal agency or private corporation. This sucked massive amounts of cash out of the post office for more than 15 years before the ridiculous mandate was mitigated in 2022.

Trump appointee, Postmaster DeJoy, has done nothing but waste money and destroy efficiencies since his appointment.

For decades, private companies have had as a pipe dream the “privatization” of the postal service. Why would they want it if it’s such a money loser? Because it isn’t.

This is the same sabotage and then steal that republicans have done for decades.

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The Republican passed Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 required the USPS to create a $72 billion fund to pay for the cost of its post-retirement health care costs, 75 years into the future. This burden applied to no other federal agency or private corporation. This sucked massive amounts of cash out of the post office for more than 15 years before the ridiculous mandate was mitigated in 2022.

Trump appointee, Postmaster DeJoy, has done nothing but waste money and destroy efficiencies since his appointment.

For decades, private companies have had as a pipe dream the “privatization” of the postal service. Why would they want it if it’s such a money loser? Because it isn’t.

This is the same sabotage and then steal that republicans have done for decades.

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People don't want to hear their right wing populism is just being used to get the billionaires elected so they can do smash and grabs on government functions and their tax liabilities.

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Why don't you sneak back over here and delete this ^^^^^ .....hurry now.

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Or you could... idk... answer the question?

Elon needs to read a history book on why Amtrak exists in the first place.