[PRCo] Re: Why did trolleys take the business?

[John Swindler]

I don't know why you would say that the American dollar is worthless, Fred.  Apparently didn't stop Dennis from visiting Paris and Rome, and we are already considering a second trip to Europe this year.  And Phil and his wife were in Spain/Portugal just a couple months ago.  There are some great deals out there - and they are priced in American dollars. 
 
John 
 
> From: fwschneider at comcast.net> Subject: [PRCo] Re: Why did trolleys take the business?> Date: Sun, 6 Jul 2008 08:58:04 -0400> To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org> > However, Dennis,> > remember that the American dollar is > worthless. When the Euro was first created it was deliberately > issued on par with the dollar .. one for one. The dollar has > slipped to the point where it now costs more than $1.60 to buy one > Euro. So 1 Euro 54 per gallon in terms of the hours an Italian needs > to work is cheaper today than our $4.00 a gallon. About $3.75. > And you probably noticed that most people are driving diesels because > #2 diesel in earning power over there equates to about $3.25 and gets > 50 miles per gallon. We're the ones being screwed, not them.> > I'm leaving in a few minutes to have dinner with a friend who is an > executive in Munich with German Rail. He vacations here twice a > year because the exchange rate is so good that he "can buy the whole > U. S." I could not get angry when he said that because I could > remember back in 1959 when the dollar was worth four times the German > Mark in spending power. And I know John Swindler remembers when he > earned more in a few days driving a bus in Chicago than a London > subway motorman earned in a month. But that has all changed.> > Fred the Third> > On Jul 6, 2008, at 7:53 AM, Dennis F. Cramer wrote:> > > Henry Ford gave the country what it wanted, or at least he > > convinced us that> > is what we wanted; Independence. The streetcars gave us the first > > suburbs> > and then the post WWII housing boom created suburbs to the suburbs > > and we> > just continued to grow. The peak of the electric age was circa > > 1918 and> > peak bus ridership was in the early 1950's. Our country continued > > to move> > farther and farther away due to incredibly cheap fuel prices and > > now we are> > beginning to see the mistakes that were made.> >> > We got spoiled and now want to complain. The talk everywhere is > > about the> > price of fuel, but I see few people parking their large vehicles. > > There was> > a brief bit on the news this morning that a developer is making > > condos out> > of the old Horne's and Murphy buildings in Pittsburgh because > > people are> > wanting to move back into town.> >> > I just got back from Italy and fuel there is 1.54 Euros a litre. > > That comes> > out to about $9.00 a gallon at the current rate. A Ford Focus is a > > large> > car and flying into both Paris and Rome show few sprawling suburban > > areas> > like we have. I bought a 24 hour pass on the Rome system for 4 > > Euros. That> > covered bus, Metro, trams and their regional rail line; much > > cheaper than a> > taxi at morning rush.> >> > Europe and Asia want more fuel than ever before. Our gas is still> > relatively cheap and we still are unhappy. When I started working > > 33 years> > ago, gas was close to $2.00 a gallon and it has doubled. My salary > > went up> > over 7 times in the same position. Is the glass half full or half > > empty? I> > have had a wonderful weekend: drove home from Delaware County on > > the 4th,> > played a wedding with my quintet in Clarion and came home to barbecue> > outside on the 5th; and will finish the weekend off today by > > driving 120> > miles round trip to volunteer at PTM. Now if I can just get Air > > France to> > get my luggage to me from Paris I will come home to a much more > > relaxed> > wife.> >> > I bought a new Nikon D60 before I left for Europe and have posted > > the raw> > images here:> >> > http://picasaweb.google.com/altotrombone> >> > Dennis F. Cramer> > Trombone> >> >> >> >> > 
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