I'm going to repost a comment I left at the very informative Eye on Business blog at the Sioux City Journal. I grew up in Sioux City, and when I found the excellent writing there at the Sioux City Journal's web site, I started reading daily. Dave Dreeszen tells us, in his post today, of Michael Moore's vapid "GM shouldn't build cars, but should build bullet trains" plan. Dave writes:
Americans, he said, need to give up driving air-polluting cars, and instead zip around the country on "bullet trains." Much like the Japanese. Right.
How about those of us in rural areas not served by the train lines? We can ride on clean-burning buses. Is it practical to take a bus to call on clients, or go shopping or take our children to ball games, piano classes and dance practices? Not sure about that.
Anyway, how would we pay for all of these trains and buses? Moore wants to raise the federal gas tax by $2 per gallon.
What do you think about his so-called plan?
And my response...
While there's really no contesting Michael's ability to make a profitable movie, I might point out that his movies are products that require no union labor, no repairs (well, unless you expect him to fix the myriad factual errors), and don't threaten bodily harm from accidental injury that can spawn lawsuits against Michael.
The transportation industry is complex. To make a profit, all of the above must be navigated and(!) your product must stand out against the competition. That's quite a feat - and obviously something Michael knows little about.
Mass transit has no mass appeal, as you point out. In Japan and New York, mass transit works because the geography is small. Across a vast America? Puh-leez.
The American car has always symbolized freedom of movement and independence. It's a teenager's first escape from the oversight of parents. It's how you get your stuff to college. It's what you use to just blow off steam after an argument, driving streets and highways with the music cranked up. Can any of that happen on a train?
This is why putting the direction of this country into the hands of the far left - like Pelosi, Moore, Obama, Matthews, etc - is a really dumb idea. Companies are taken from their rightful owners, the media ceases to be an advocate for the common man and instead cheerleads and protects the political class of its choosing, and unworkable utopian fantasies - such as Moore's model railroad and Obama's health care plans - are offered up to us and to be paid for by greater and greater taxation on a people who can't afford such a burden.
Movies are two hours of escapism. When they're done, you can leave the theater and return to real life. There is no escape from the barrage of un-American nonsense coming from our politicians in leadership position today. Today, that is real life. The problem is that Moore's idea is no less workable than any other idea being floated from Washington (the VAT on top of income taxes, the refusal to drill for new domestic oil, bailing out companies and individuals who make poor choices with their finances, and on and on).
What happens when the successful choose to walk out of this American theater and "go Galt?"
ETC: My longtime friend, Kelly, sends me this jewel:
