Time for one big government railroad?

The environmental and societal railroad disaster in East Palestine, OH begs the question: Why do we allow rapacious railroad capitalists to put us all at grave risk with their gluttonous desire to turn their unearned millions into a billion or more?

Norfolk Southern CEO James Squires is worth nearly $30 million while President Alan Shaw has packed away nearly $11 million. While both proclaim their No. 1 priority is safety, their actions belie a greater interest in the bottom line. Indeed, the nation’s private railroad moguls are pushing to reduce the number of safety inspectors on haz mat trains from 2 to 1. Why? Save labor costs. In their view, one can do the job of 2, the public be damned. Saving labor cost is why they act like 19th century robber barons keeping essential crew from sick time which is essential for healthy, rested, alert crews.

What is really sickening is that we allow the vital national need for safe railroad service to remain hijacked by greedy individuals under the guise of another wonder of US capitalism. Meanwhile Congress is scurrying around like rats on the sinking ship of state proclaiming their new Railroad Safety Act of 2023 will solve a systemic problem. That’s not a case of the horse escaped from the barn before closing the door. It’s more like trying to put a band aid on 11 derailed hazardous material cars after 100,000 gallons of hazardous materials escaped to destroy our environment and put thousands at risk.

Hazardous materials? The most hazardous are sitting in the corporate offices of Norfolk Southern and their greedy competitors. It’s time to sweep those offices clean to make way for a new entity: The American Public Railroad.