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The Train They Call the City Of New Orleans
by Christopher Wilkinson
2008-08-05 09:07:04 |
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New Orleans is sinking. I'm thinking about my country -- America -- its people and its pride. I do believe in the principles my country stands for. In a democracy the people not only elect the government -- we are the government. For the People, and By the People, as Abe Lincoln said.
I have a timely recommendation:
The price of petroleum is high. It may go down a bit before it goes up a bit more. The trends is go up a few notches, drop a couple of notches, go up a few more notches -- get the people acclimatized to a price -- where we think it is cheap, just because it is cheaper that two weeks ago -- then raise well over the previous high point. It keeps a small psychological balance in what has become the inevitable mushrooming of the price of petroleum. All this can be calculated by either macro or micro economics; the forecasts of thirty years ago are only echoed in the forecasts of today. Now, however, we are facing the crunch.
People are losing their houses. The government seems to be moving in to stop the rising tide of homeless Americans. They really have to. Machiavelli, the father of Political Science, noted well that a mass of homeless, hopeless, people will always result in extreme unrest and/or revolution. Government support of housing is preferable to a complete breakdown of the economic structure (as in 1929).
Marie Antoinette, is not famous for her housing concerns, but is famous for forgetting that the people need to eat.
The price of food all over America is rising dramatically. People who are suffering from the price of gas, the failing of the banks, mortgage and homeownership being on the block, and a general feeling that the money is not buying what is should -- like, are we gonna make it? Well, the bottom line in holding a country together is to make sure the people have shelter, food, and medicine.
Food is very important, and its price continues to rise.
Why? Some say that the trucking industry cannot afford to keep the trucks rolling with the price of diesel being what it is. To make a profit they have to drastically raise freight costs, which are passed on the consumer/eater. Some say that too much eatable food is being used to produce burnable energy such as ethanol. Some blame the general failure of the economy. Blame, blame, blame.
A John Lennon song says: "There are no problems, only solutions." The same words have been quoted as coming from Dwight Eisenhower's wife, Mamie. Whatever. Is there a way to move beyond the blaming stage of this and get to the solving stage -- quickly???
Maybe. ---- There was a day when America was Great. It was not a time when America was busy with the matters of Global Political Concerns. It was the time when America was putting itself together as a nation. This is the time that started with people like J.P. Morgan and Nelson Rockefeller, coming out of the Great Depression America got itself together. How? By the construction and establishment of a great railway system. The Railroads were capable of transporting all kinds of cargo, including food, all over the country. They were also capable of transporting people.
The transport of commodities and marketable items by railroad is still o.k. Transport of humans is nominal at best (Amtrak -- they always are late, they have to wait for the trains that the owners of the tracks, such as Union Pacific, run by first. Transport of food -- cold cars (Ever See "East of Eden" starring James Dean?) has been replaced in these decades by the truckers. The truckers can no longer handle the price of the trip and take enough home to feed their children. Even with subsidies they are having a very hard time.
We are in a state of national crisis. The time between now and the next person to take presidential office is actually enough time to lose the whole shebang. There exists only one infrastructure in America capable -- with serious effort and serious funding -- of making sure the people of America have food. This same means would bring cheaper public transit. THE RAILROAD!
There are a lot of railroad ties that are rotten. There are a lot of tracks that are out of repair. There are a lot of cars that are mothballed, needing basic repairs, wheels being greased, etc. -- boxcars and flatbeds and cabooses, etc. The whole kit and caboodle consists also of the engines. Train Engines ran on steam at first, this steam was created by burning things. Anything. Mostly Coal. Black clouds of coal. The diesels came in, and are still running. In fact, there are large yards filled with RR Engines, mothballed and rusting. I bet they could be either repaired or parted out in short order.
Fix the tracks! Get the engines and cars back on the tracks! Fill the cars with freight and FOOD. Make sure that no one goes hungry, no matter how depressed the economy might go. Provide passenger cars, as of old, so that people can get around. The price of Gas is hurting both Air and Bus industries when it comes to passengers being able to buy tickets.
The railroad must be repaired and made fully operational post haste. There are many people capable of making this happen. The need is clear. The infrastructure still exists. There is little time. The investment will more than pay off when compared to scenarios of gas prices making food unavailable at a time when the government is pressed to be sure the people are not homeless. The price of foreign wars is bleeding the economy, while the addiction to cheap imports drains the value of the dollar, seeping out into the world monetary balances.
I remember Arlo Guthrie sang "City of New Orleans", a song written by Steve Goodman. I think that for us it's a wake-up song:
Good morning America, How are you?
Don't you know me?
I'm your native son.
I'm the train they call the City of New Orleans.
I'll be gone 500 miles when the day is done.
Listen to the music! Revive the trains! Make sure we have food!
railroads new+orleans USA |
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