I agree that logging many years ago assumed that the resource was unlimited and was abused, but does that mean all logging should stop for the next century? As I pointed out, this is the wrong thing to do unless you want to watch all the forests change into charcoal. There has also been a change in firefighting methods - Now around here they seem to be busy trying to "manage" the fire by watching it because they are too scared that a firefighter might get hurt. Isn't that the very definition of a hazardous occupation? This summer they "watched" two lightning strikes merge to burn 100,000 acres and even let it jump the UP and six paved lanes in no wind. Lots of grazing land, timber and habitat was lost, along with a few houses. There is just too much money in firefighting now - both overtime for government employees and contractors that only get paid when they work.

Protectionism is different that fair trade. Is Canada requiring loggers to competitively bid on government timber without any subsidies? Can't do much about the exchange rate, that is the fault of our politicians who are pandering to investors. Our whole economy is turning upside down, we have the 1% getting rich off their political influence and the financial markets, the middle class (except for government/union employees) is disappearing leaving the rest of us to try selling hamburgers to each other. And my Obamacare just went up gain by like 50% with deductibles being substantially raised. Yet I heard that there won't be a cost of living increase this year because the government claims the inflation rate is too close to zero - are you kidding? Besides health care, anyone else notice that hamburger is $6 a pound and groceries that haven't increased in price are because the package is shrinking.

So how does this affect the railroads? I am thinking that the imports, whether in containers or centerbeams, has created more rail traffic than if the same products were produced domestically. But that doesn't mean that railroads are out of the woods with coal traffic crashing and crude oil going from boom to bust, at least for now. Not to mention the cost of meeting new government mandates like PTC and Tier 4.

Every great society in history has crashed and in some cases faded to oblivion. The Greeks, Romans, Mongols, Vikings, Aztecs, Incas, British Empire and the French, the Soviet Union - maybe within our lifetimes the US will become a victim of itself with an imploded economy. Would you like fries with that order?