Why You Hate United Airlines & Amtrak

Syria and North Korea took a back seat to United Airlines this week.

Amtrak hasn’t made a profit in almost 50-years! It has money-making routes but is forced to run empty trains in much of the country.

I’m surprised those nations didn’t get dragged from their chairs! How does a story about a man violating a contractual obligation he agreed to when he bought a ticket get more attention than World War 3? Kevin Williamson writes at National Review that it’s because we all despise airlines, cable companies and banks. He also says those businesses are heavily regulated and the government may share responsibility for the rage we feel.

The liberal Christian Science Monitor weighed in from another perspective.

Speaking of regulation, a writer at the Wall Street Journal claims government planners are to blame for troubles with rail travel. I’ve used Amtrak just once. A co-worker’s brother had a job with the NFL and got us tickets to a game and a ride on the train. It was 90 minutes late. After we finally left the platform and got on the tracks, we had several complete and lengthy stops for repair work. We arrived at the stadium midway through the second quarter. Amtrak hasn’t made a profit in almost 50 years! It has money-making routes, but is forced to run empty trains in much of the country. You don’t need to be an engineer to see where the actual fix is needed.