Privatize the lot of them
There’s an odd rivalry between the rail companies and the pipeline companies, here in Canada. Both will tell you, loudly, that we need crude oil “transported”. And both will ignore the two realities; the need for crude oil transportation is lessening, and they’re both not very good at it. Think about this.
In a pipeline, you have an enormous steel hose, laid below the soil and monitored (we are told) continuously for any variation in flow pressure that wasn’t part of their plan. In other words, what shouldn’t leak, might. And they’re on top of it, so the disaster should be averted.
In the case of the rail lines, they have a dedicated right-of-way, that they maintain. They get to choose the volume transported in their tank cars, and if there is a disaster, they’re on top of it. So far so good; they’re both competent and ready to respond to any leaks. Here’s the catch: both methods are nagged by failure. Both are pressured by the imperative to make money, and so routine maintenance is an afterthought.
The answer is obvious (except to people who hate government involvement). Nationalize the whole of it. Since the government is called up to remediate the failures of the private sector, we might as well go directly to the cash drawer. Remove shareholder from the end game, and allow us all to profit, since we’re paying in the end.
Am I a socialist? Probably. We’ve allowed the private sector to demonstrate “how good they are”, and the mess on the ground stinks.
