Letting the free market decide
UP spokesman Mark Davis said that while “one accident, one injury or one death” is one too many, “relocating tracks is of greater benefit to the public” than it is to the railroad, “so the public should bear most of the costs involved.”
Puente noted that “the bottom line is that (UP) is willing to relocate tracks, but someone is going to have to pay for it, and that someone is most likely going to be the taxpayers.”
The dangers posed by trains, which sometimes carry toxic or dangerous chemicals, is a complex issue that has no cheap or quick fix, officials involved in the process note.
I’m pretty sure that UP has already factored “one injury or one death too many” into their cost of doing business. I’m not picking on Union Pacific specifically (well, a little) but corporations in general.
Too often people ask “why should I vote or pay taxes” and this is the reason why. Business will only support a general public benefit if it’s in their financial interest to do so. Many free market types would argue that individuals would ultimately stop buying items transported by UP and therefore UP would build the tracks because of a loss of business.
Maybe.
But how many people will be injured or die before the economic boycott will work? Government is suppose to serve the people where as business has no such obligation. However, it won’t serve it individuals don’t participate both by voting and paying taxes. If you think that’s too much of a burden then you should probably start figuring out which products you buy are transported by Union Pacific.
Technorati Tags: Union Pacific, San Antonio, train derailment, safety, rail line relocation
Filed under: Free market, Government Regulation, San Antonio, Union Pacific, social responsibility
