Does anybody eles think that industries should be givin a tax incentive to ship by rail istead of by truck?
I belive that if such a measure were eneacted, higheway traffic and truck pollution could be greatly reduced. Not to mention it would be a boon to the rail industry.
North Carolina has a program that gives tax incentives if any industry revitalizes and existing spur that was out of service. I’m not sure if NCDOT has a program for shipping by rail instead of truck.
In my opinion that can be a real slippery slope…
When you start talking tax incentives and other means to possibly give one mode of transportation or industry a hand up over another…you start talking lots of lobbying and politics. While your idea has merit based on reducing traffic and pollution I believe it is just not feasible.
Basically I feel that the best thing for the economy is to let the market work itself out. If rail has a competitive advantage versus a truck or other means, then it will gain the business. An industry is going to pick the mode of transportation, which is most cost effective for them. The less government interaction you have in the economy, the less deadweight loss will occur.