Dead Nation Walking | James Howard Kunstler

[Tace]

James Howard Kunstler -- World News Trust

May 18, 2015

Many people seem to think that America has lost its sense of purpose.

They overlook the obvious: that we are striving to become the Bulgaria of the western hemisphere. At least we already have enough vampires to qualify.

You don’t have to seek further than the USA’s sub-soviet-quality passenger railroad system, which produced the spectacular Philadelphia derailment last week that killed eight people and injured dozens more. Six days later, we’re still waiting for some explanation as to why the train was going 100 miles-per-hour on a historically dangerous curve within the city limits.

The otherwise excellent David Stockman posted a misguided blog last week that contained all the boilerplate arguments denouncing passenger rail: that it’s addicted to government subsidies and that a “free market” would put it out of its misery because Americans prefer to drive and fly from one place to another.

One reason Americans prefer to drive -- say, from Albany, New York, to Boston -- is that there is only one train a day, it never leaves on time or arrives on time, and it takes twice as long as a car trip for no reason that makes any sense. Of course, this is exactly the kind of journey (slightly less than 200 miles) that doesn’t make sense to fly, either, given all the dreary business of getting to-and-from the airports, not to mention the expense of a short-hop plane ticket.

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http://worldnewstrust.com/dead-nation-walking-james-howard-kunstler

[Warpy]

1. Republicans think only poor people who don't have cars

ride trains, never mind the mucky-mucks who were on the derailed train in Philly.

The point is that they don't take trains, preferring to take that expensive and inefficient short hop flight with limos at both ends of the trip. Or they're treated to chopper flights by their big donors.

They're also stuck in that 1950s mindset, when everybody earned enough to afford cars and personal transportation was king because it was door to door and of course the oil would never run out or even get more expensive.

They're dangerous morons.

[TimeToEvolve]

4. being a millenial, i look back at the attitude of the 50's with resentment

they were the intellectual "dark ages"

[Warpy]

5. Very wise of you, they were

They coincided with the best deal labor had ever had, but they were regimented, segregated in every way (not just by race), and provided pure hell for anyone who wasn't a white male.

[TimeToEvolve]

6. it was the golden age of consumerism, and hardly anyone gave a crap about the bigger picture.

and then the economy and world events turned sour and the good ol' times vanished, but many of us kept the selfish attitude with us to this day which still hampers any attempt to right the wrongs.

[Demeter]

2. America Has Lost Its Mind, Its Economy, Its Democracy, Rights, Freedoms, and Rule of Law

Have I left anything out?

The sense of purpose is strong, but in prison, there is no purpose allowed.

[leveymg]

3. Nothing is more dangerous than an obsolete idea that continues to deliver dividends every quarter

no matter what.