Do you ever actually read my posts?
I do but I also read Classsic Trains magazines and see that even back in the 1950's a sleeper was only a few dollars more than coach fare. It didn''t add four to six times what the cost of the coach fare was.
First off, coach, as my other topic indicated, was way more expensive than today. But secondarily, the pricing structure is different. For instance, the price in coach in 1971 from NYP to CHI was $51.25 ($268). Comparatively, while the Bedroom had a specific charge of $28.25 ($147.99), it also had a required fare increase of $30.25 ($158.47), thus bringing the actual upcharge between travelling in Coach and traveling in sleeper to $58.50 ($306.46). Or 114% of coach price.
Now, let us take an example of two people travelling together (which is much cheaper on Amtrak, trust me). Let us assume a theoretical price in between low and high buckets, ok? Railfare is $88 per person, ok? $176 for two people. $616 for the room. $792, room accounting for 78% of the price.
1971, the "coach" fare is 102.50 ($536.96) for the two people. The rail-fare upcharge for traveling in sleeper is $60.50 for the two people ($316.94). And the specific fare for the Bedroom is $56.50 ($295.98), or a total sleeper upcharge of $117. That means that of the total cost of $219.50, the sleeper is 53% of the price.
Now, consider that even the highest bucket coach price is half what it was then, and you can see the actual trend. It isn't that sleepers have gotten more expensive... it is just that coach has gotten cheaper!
We must also consider that Amtrak has a very high cost in employee salaries and benefits. People are being paid $40-$80,000 for positions that the private sector would consider simple unskilled labor. When Pullman was around they kept the Porters salaries low as they earned tips for providing good service. Today not only do unskilled uneducated people get paid big money, many of them are lazy,disinterested and rude. In Pullmans day he would not have put up with this type of behavior. IMO all of the onboard staff is way overpaid and that keeps the sleeper prices elevated.
As someone who actually works with their hands for a living, I find people like you to be disgusting. Like you, I too have a pointless piece of paper that proves that I have spent 4 years in college doing things I could have done the day I graduated high school. However, unlike you I don't believe it does, or should, entitle me to being paid well.
Most white-collar workers aren't worth half of what they are paid, and that is a fact. It is those people who are supposedly "unskilled" labor who work their asses off supporting your way of life. And then when they get paid well you complain.
The only place where blue-collar career workers make less than the lazy, arrogant, stuck up, and generally selfish white collar types are in the places that exploit us because they illegally prevent unions from forming. Such as Wal-Mart. Who has been taking our economy for a ride for more years than I care to think about.