[xoxoxoBruce]

The story of Amtrak is one of a crooked bailout where we, as we so often do, get left holding the bag for a bunch of rich corporate criminals. First, they looted Penn Central’s subsidiaries by making them pay dividends to the parent company, so they got paid while running those companies into the ground. Secondly, they secretly sold off their shares while this dividend scam was making it look like the company was doing well. So they got paid a second time. Thirdly, when the company was on the rocks, they went to the government and said “The rail system is too big to fail!” and got a bailout to the tune of $750 million, getting paid a third time. The US got CONRAIL (the freight system) and Amtrak. CONRAIL was sold and became a private company in 1986, and rapidly became profitable. Amtrak has never turned a profit in its existence and is run by the Department of Transportation. So if you’ve ever wondered why it sucks so much (and I am an enthusiastic Amtrak rider), now you know.

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