Biden’s Executive Order Targets Railroads, And The Outcome Won’t Be Good

  • Date: 23-Jul-2021
  • Source: Forbes
  • Sector:Economy
  • Country:Middle East
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Biden’s Executive Order Targets Railroads, And The Outcome Won’t Be Good

In the name of promoting competition the Biden Administration is about to run one of America's great success stories off the rails. As this episode of What's Ahead explains, the U. S. rail freight industry is the world's best, a stark change from 40 years ago, when this critical part of our transportation infrastructure was in desperate shape. Deregulation came in 1980, and the industry experienced a stunning turnaround. What's Biden's beef? There are fewer big carriers now than 40 years ago. So what? Consolidations for efficiencies and access to capital are normal. The key factor: Freight rates today are 44% lower than they were in 1980. Yet the White House is pushing a scheme to force larger carriers to subsidize smaller ones. All that will do is reverse the industry's 40 years of progress. Send me a secure tip Steve Forbes is Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of Forbes Media. Steve's newest project is the podcast "What's Ahead," where he engages the world's top newsmakers, Steve Forbes is Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of Forbes Media. Steve's newest project is the podcast "What's Ahead," where he engages the world's top newsmakers, politicians and pioneers in business and economics in honest conversations meant to