> Should the buggy whip manufacturer continue to thrive after the
> demand for his product goes from 90% to 5%? The only way to do that
> is to subsidize him.
A current example of this is Amtrak. Passenger train companies in the
US went broke in the 70s so the government bought them out and has
operated at a loss ever since. I once compared the prices of traveling
by train to flying, in that case it was from SW Michigan/Northern
Indiana/Chicago area to Oregon and back. Flying cost $20 less and took
part of a day each way as opposed to three days out and four days
back. I do know that their train service is a lot more economical for
trips on the East Coast, but out here in the west it's a joke, the you
can fly into smaller towns than you can take the train too, for a
lower cost, and in a fraction of the time.
A relic of past ages has been kept alive by tax payers. That kind of
reminds me of empty European cathedrals kept functioning by the state
church with the only income being from taxes.
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