Why do Americans fear privatization so much? (generation, illegal, border)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The only reason that private businesses engage in lobbying is because the interference of government in the free market system, by regulating and subsidizing product and services creates a need for businesses to engage in a patronage system to elicit equal access to political favors.
Get government out of the business of regulating/subsidizing and picking the winners and losers, and you take business out of politics.
It wasn't until after Clinton sicced the DOJ on Microsoft in the 1990's that MSFT started employing lobbyists and creating an entire "Governmental Relations" department within the company. Bill learned the hard way that you have to play politics if you want to do business in America.
The fed is about kick backs and special interests. Add to this bureaucracy and you have massive over spending.
Private sector is all about manipulating the above. The result is massive over billing.
But the problem is..Fed's HAVE privatized..bringing in Private Contracted Services..THUS having to subsidize THEIR "Profit Margins"..and have little or no oversights!!
I could list a lot of such..Halliburton as just one..even Cheney had to resign as Top Executive when THAT went thru ( don't tell me that Contract wasn't a Quip Pr Quo Contract ) Anyway, Wasn't Snowden an employee of some Private/Contracted service??? Yep They did a good job screening that treason perp haven'd in Russia ( your bestest friend ) to avoid Fed. charges..SMH
Government has been far too slow to keep UTD with 21st Century advances..ala Vet paperwork..once all paperwork driven...has now been upgraded 90% not 100% but has advanced hugely) But given ME war Vets required much attention.. Catching up to the actual needs got bogged down..due to outdated bureaucracy still back in the 20th Century ....Funding went to Wars..and forgot about the warriors to were fighting those wars for over 8 years.....talk about walking up the proverbial hill!!!!
Anyway..Privatizing sounds good..BUT unfortunately..that privatizing does not mean separate..It simply means taxpayers still pay inflated prices for same services..and oversight is Zitch!!
Of course government is inefficient. Stop already.
And when did this equality to access thing start? 1776? 1863? 1890? 1954? 1964? or when Affirmative Action started?
The USPS is as efficient as any private carrier. Medicaid has lower overhead than most insurance companies. The top performing public high schools are better than most private high schools. The fact that all this happens w/o gov't picking and choosing the customer bases that earn them the most profits, the way most private entities do, shows how "inefficient" they are.
The USPS is as efficient as any private carrier. Medicaid has lower overhead than most insurance companies. The top performing public high schools are better than most private high schools. The fact that all this happens w/o gov't picking and choosing the customer bases that earn them the most profits, the way most private entities do, shows how "inefficient" they are.
Good timing on your part.
The Department of Defense spent $43 million to build a gas station in Afghanistan that should have cost roughly $500,000, the lead oversight team monitoring U.S. spending in Afghanistan has found. The discovery came as part of a broader investigation into allegations of criminal activity within the DOD's premiere program to kick-start the Afghan economy.
The Task Force spent $42,718,739 between 2011 and 2014 to "fund the construction and to supervise the initial operation of the CNG station," the U.S. military told SIGAR -- with "approximately $12.3 million in direct costs and $30 million in overhead costs."
Privatizing may make sense when there is a profit angle. For example, a state may hire a private vendor to run concessions in their state parks. But privatizing the operation of the park itself would be a problem because the only way to make a profit would be to cut staff, increase logging, cut back on maintenance, etc. - and soon you no longer have space that functions as a state park.
Private prisons have been a disaster, and charter schools are going down the same path.
The Department of Defense spent $43 million to build a gas station in Afghanistan that should have cost roughly $500,000, the lead oversight team monitoring U.S. spending in Afghanistan has found. The discovery came as part of a broader investigation into allegations of criminal activity within the DOD's premiere program to kick-start the Afghan economy.
The Task Force spent $42,718,739 between 2011 and 2014 to "fund the construction and to supervise the initial operation of the CNG station," the U.S. military told SIGAR -- with "approximately $12.3 million in direct costs and $30 million in overhead costs."
Weeeeee... so much fun to pick and choose these things.
My point still stands. When you compare the top performing public enterprises, they are better than the vast majority of their industry peers. Your argument is another right-wing talking point, not based on reality, but on a faulty understanding of how things work.
I'm not afraid of a lot of stupid things...I just don't do them because it would be a stupid thing to do.
Privatizing Social Security is a stupid thing to do, and there's no good reason to do it.
Enron is a classic example. If it weren't for Social Security, those people would be working until death. Those people thought they were rich and they had nothing.
Quote:
Originally Posted by maf763
Private prisons have been a disaster, and charter schools are going down the same path.
Private prisons are a terrible terrible idea. You do not want a company that is motivated to increase the number of prisoners and keep them in jail at the cost of taxpayers. It's the worst idea.
I try to stay out of political discussions for the most part. But ocasionally I find myself getting caught up in some political debates. And my first go to solution is to privatize. This immediately ends the conversation, or I get called all sorts of idiots.
I find it odd that Americas will agree social security is a disaster, the police force is a disaster, all of our social programs are a disaster. Yet when someone talks about the power of the market, people are automatically scared.
So I ask, why is America so afraid to attempt privatization? Why do we keep looking towards government for solutions? And why do we keep trying the same "solutions" over and over again that has netted very few gains or progress?
I don't fear what is more accurately described as stupidity. I am all for privatization when its not inherently a monopoly. I don't think public schools should be run by the government for example. Roads, sewers and water are inherently monopolies. It makes no difference monopoly wise. It usually makes it worse because the executives almost always pay themselves more for being so good at running monopolies. The reason why there is such a push for it is because its much easier to steal things and finance loves it because private assets usually wind up being owned on credit. This makes it easy to load a public utility with debt and then turn it into an interest tax. Bankers love privatization. I hate bankers which are like politicians with the exception that I cannot vote them out.
As if there's a guarantee that an "unperverted" free market will lead to good outcomes.
I'd much rather deal with the local biker gang and their relaxed attitude to loud motorcycles, petty theft and violence through an involuntary 3rd party. And their consent to be judged by the law is not really a matter of great concern to me.
But we've gone over this before.
Uh, "outcomes"...aka scare tactics.
What motivation does the government have to do well if you've already let it claim you as a servant upon birth? What fear could it have of you? You'll protest? You'll vote?
Oh yeah, that will scare them.
The problem is you don't have any confidence in yourself and fail to realize the government protects bad behavior and actually encourages it.
That biker gang down the street need dental work done, drains to unclog, hair to be cut (ok maybe not the hair). Right now daddy government won't let us deny them service within our professions because that's "unfair".
We can mold behavior thru shunning/ostracizing within voluntary associations much better than thru the government.
If you're not going to judge a policy by its outcome, then what?
Quote:
What motivation does the government have to do well if you've already let it claim you as a servant upon birth? What fear could it have of you? You'll protest? You'll vote?
Oh yeah, that will scare them.
Have you noticed the sums and efforts expended in securing our votes?
Quote:
That biker gang down the street need dental work done, drains to unclog, hair to be cut (ok maybe not the hair). Right now daddy government won't let us deny them service within our professions because that's "unfair".
Simply not true. You can legally refuse service to people in a biker gang.
Quote:
We can mold behavior thru shunning/ostracizing within voluntary associations much better than thru the government.
Has this ever worked? If so, where?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
) Anyway, Wasn't Snowden an employee of some Private/Contracted service??? Yep They did a good job screening that treason perp haven'd in Russia ( your bestest friend ) to avoid Fed. charges..SMH
