When even railroads are laying off masses of people, you know the state of affairs in the nation cannot be good. I know we are deluged daily with "Everything is AWESOME!!" from the media, govt, and corporations, but the very fact they feel the need to constantly tell us how great things are is proof that things aren't great.
Remember 20 years ago when times were actually pretty good? We didn't get told they were good all day because it was self-evident. So, when it's so bad that the powers that be have to lie endlessly, you know it's bad and it will only get worse.
This isn't about Union Pacific, that's just a symptom of a much bigger disease.