Depressing, but probably true - so then where does that leave us though? What is the successful model?

Privatization can't really work - the railroads are not trying to get back into the passenger business. (Yean, I know about the one NS comment, but actions speak louder than words.)

Amtrak has been little more than a placeholder, expanding service only where the states have stepped in, and even in those cases, not to the point that it's anywhere near as fast as driving.

The model of airlines in the US is that of poor service that people only go back to because it's fast.

The model of busses in the US is that they are something that most folks are ashamed of having to ride.

The model of cars is that no matter how low gas goes we all know it will go back up and traffic is becoming unbearable.

So I put it out there... not as an arguement... but as a question... if the tea from the opening analogy was actually a good thing that was healthy and kept our lives at a higher standard, what is the model that would allow us to have that tea available to us... and in such a way that it's not moldy and in such a way that we can get it in as simple and quick a way as we can get a can of soda (our own cars)?

Or is there none and are we doomed, due to human nature (humans run government and big business) to be stuck in traffic or on planes as we are now?