One of the best and highest uses of a government is to provide goods that are uneconomical to be produced locally but have massive surplus if produced at all. Particularly notable examples include:
* disease and weather forecasting
* basic science, esp in energy/health
* natural disaster insurance
* disease and weather forecasting
* basic science, esp in energy/health
* natural disaster insurance
Comments
-
If you measure by profit for the 1%, it's working very well and they plan to intensify privatization. Did you intend some other rubric?
"it is called..."
You say that as if things only have one name and the meanings of names never vary. The assumption that your local paradigm applies universally, is alas all too common. Your health system exists to provide care for patients, while ours exists to deliver profits to investors...
...as yet another example of variation in terms and meanings, in the USA, "corn" means maize, while in the UK, "corn" includes barley, wheat and oats.
-
I'm not saying this is a good thing! I'm just saying, that's how it is, and anyone with any hopes of ever changing anything, had better know...
...know what they're up against.
In the USA, capitalist investors have lucrative stakes in the system. Many attempts at change have failed, and attempts will continue to fail, unless they either
A) buy out the investment from capitalists
B) make such a plausible threat, of such ruthless harm...
A more alarming example is things like veteran benefits. The VA cannot simply be privatized and expected to be break even - it’s not just a service provider.
It’s a more alarming lack of any logic whatsoever. The VA exists to spend money that we have decided we want to spend: “break even” is a nonsense thought.
Your earlier examples are at least theoretically something that could be run as a business and make money even if it’s a bad idea.
Nice primer here in case of interest.
https://www.masterclass.com/articles/public-good-explained
or MAMA and DADDY and aunt Edna
will be moving in...
202-224-3121 takes less then 5 minutes
SOCIAL SECURITY ISN"T UP FOR GRABS
Tell MIKE LEE UTAH
TO
STAY OUT OF OUR NATIONAL PARKS
If they want to cut actual waste, they need to look into a mirror.
The list of what taxes do seems to be becoming very short.
Then there's the defence of our Commons and the CFPB - best thing to happen to regular citizens in my lifetime.
We all need to ring our reps and NAG them!
CFPB was one of the few times our Congress got right.
I actually (little me!) got some serious help from the CFPB in getting Wells Fargo to honor the contract I took out through
the car dealership in my town.
It took 3 days after the call :+)
I heard him promise to bring down food prices in day one?
-
So here's the test for any alternative to government: could it eradicate smallpox?
That’s the purpose of our taxes. That’s what a more perfect union is all about.
Another reason why businessman should never run government.
Especially business men who continually fail.
A government's goal isn't ever financial gain. It's output is the betterment of the citizens, the land and on a broader scale the planet.
Regardless of if it's weather, disease, or polluted water, something that can kill me is something that can kill me.
Make America Homeless Again?
In theory (second welfare theorem), it *should* work.
In practice, people with power don't share (or in this case, don't get their programs cut), so the solution is worse than the problem.
* they need inputs from Canada
* govt programs, including foreign aid, are huge buyers of their goods
* no one is protecting their livestock from birdflu
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5123701-us-imposes-tariffs-on-canada/
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/here-s-why-banks-don-t-want-the-cfpb-to-disappear/ar-AA1ADlZD
Share some of your billions with those of us who are going to feel the pain. I'm sure that doesn't include you!
government is good at some things and not other things. And yes, it can do other things besides just be a military sugar daddy
There's only one right way, and only one wrong way?
Or did you mean, right ways and wrong ways?
https://malcolmnance.substack.com/p/urgent-warning-trump-is-planning?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=2fxdua&triedRedirect=true
https://youtu.be/I3JtZlSRMAw?si=O0oNjXN6hx9SyjuU
My grand father told me about his cousin's donkey.
It was really helpful moving stuff, but it eat too much.
So it's owner started giving less an less food, to save money.
And he succeeded!
The donkey stopped eating completely!
A great success!
Unfortunately it suddenly died for no reason.
When we choose personal grievences we get closer to death, when we cooperate we thrive
Government, which can be inefficient, is there because some time ago people died and others said “we can do better”