I don't know that using railroads as a model of non-monopolistic business is the best idea, but I agree with you that investors are critical to business. It's the original crowdfunding.
This spills over into Whole Foods as well, from my experience. I personally don't know quite how to feel about the idea that Amazon bought them out, but the in-store customer service is leagues above Walmart and on par with Publix.
Slightly related - not much a fan of hackernoon. The electric lime green banner at the top is essentially blinding. I had to zap the element with Ublock Origin just to read the article comfortably.
Piracy is going to happen - BMG should incentivize people to buy their music rather than chase down the few who obtain it illegally. The same argument has been going on since the Napster days with Metallica.