Amtrak Shrugged.

Joseph Vranich over at Capitalism Magazine draws astute parallels between Amtrak and the Jim Taggart-era Taggart Transcontinental.

Here's just one of the (ominous) parallels:

In her novel, Taggart Transcontinental Railroad employees believed they had a "right" to jobs regardless of the economic insignificance of their work. Again life imitates fiction at Amtrak. If train service is discontinued completely on a route, a severance package provides many employees with full salary for five years. Amtrak's job-protection absurdity is unparalleled in other industries.