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> America's obsession with "free market" is why you have terrible banks, terrible health care, terrible conditions for low income workers. America's lack of fr

> America's obsession with "free market" is why you have terrible banks, terrible health care, terrible conditions for low income workers. America's lack of free markets more like. Between the bailouts and increased regulations, bad behavior has been rewarded and good actors (including small community banks) have been hit pretty hard. > If you elect a government that decides... The problem with thinking government is the solution is that popular opinion is cyclical: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Presidents_of_the_United_States#Timeline https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Presidents_of_the_Unit... So whatever power you give to government to "set things right" and "ensure fairness" will be used (in probably less than 10 years) by someone else do do something "unfair" and "corrupt". > They need to be legally required to operate in a way that is financially reliable, and held accountable when they don't. I reject that the dichotomy is government on one side and corporations on the other. Most of the time, they are on the same side. Corporations campaign and get regulations and handouts friendly to their business models and push out competition. On a local level, sure, you have taxi lobbies getting strict rules that eliminate competition. On the federal level, we have laws on the books that allow jail time for violating copyright, which is basically violating a business model. I could see civil penalties, but jail time?

DanBC 11y ago
> America's lack of free markets more like. The good bits of US healthcare are the bits provided and paid for by the government. It's a weird combination of expensive (the US government pays more per capita than any other healthcare system; and insurance is expensive) and hard to access. > On the federal level, we have laws on the books that allow jail time for violating copyright, which is basically violating a business model. I could see civil penalties, but jail time? I agree that jail should be avoided for non-violent criminals. Isn't copyright law a combination of civil penalties (for people who just download stuff) and criminal penalties (for people who operate a business based on downloading stuff)? So if I download a bunch of movies they can sue me for loss of earnings of those DVDs, but if I burn those movies to DVDs and sell them it becomes criminal?
- humanrebar 11y ago
  > The good bits of US healthcare are the bits provided and paid for by the government. Like the part where I have to spend hundreds of dollars to see a doctor for something silly? Most of the time I go to the doctor, he doesn't tell me anything any nurse couldn't (and it's probably something I knew myself, walking in). So costs go up. That's all government. See also the basically unchanging pay-for-treatment model with is more-or-less mandated by acts of Congress. Want to create a medical retail startup that charges flat rates based on outcomes somehow? List all of the risks in that plan. How many of them are due to government regulations? To be fair, maybe medical regulations are fair, but acting like the private sector ruined healthcare is ignoring the tradeoffs of those kinds of regulations. > loss of earnings of those DVDs Exactly. Violating a business model. So the company should be able to recoup their losses in civil courts if it's unfair competition. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criminal_Copyright_Law_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criminal_Copyright_Law_in_the_...
  - stephenr 11y ago
    I know I shouldn't bite, but fuck it. > Like the part where I have to spend hundreds of dollars to see a doctor for something silly? Most of the time I go to the doctor, he doesn't tell me anything any nurse couldn't (and it's probably something I knew myself, walking in). So costs go up. That's all government. a) if it's something 'you already know yourself', why are you going to see a doctor? I've been to see a doctor (apart from return visits for a followup, or health certificates for my visa/work permit) a total of twice, in the last 10 years I'd say. Once I sliced my finger open (and it had to be cauterised) the other I had a weird allergic reaction to something and developed a rash. In that time I've had literally hundreds of cold's, the flu 3 times (in one year!) and plenty of small cuts bruises etc. Why didn't I go to the doctor for all of those? Because I don't need a doctor to tell me "drink fluids|take over-the-counter medicine|put a band-aid on it|keep warm" for basic health care. If you are visiting the doctor every time you have a cold or flu, maybe you need to stop complaining about your government being inefficient and start taking some personal responsibility. b) just because it costs 'hundreds of dollars' in America doesn't mean it has to. It's not a coincidence that your government is known around the world as being pretty ridiculous when it comes to getting shit done. Australia has universal health care, and there was recently a huge issue when the then-newly-elected government tried to introduce a $7 co-payment for each visit to a doctor. > How many of them are due to government regulations? American government regulations. Just because you have crazy laws, doesn't mean the rest of the world does.

DanBC 11y ago

> America's lack of free markets more like. The good bits of US healthcare are the bits provided and paid for by the government. It's a weird combination of expensive (the US government pays more per capita than any other healthcare system; and insurance is expensive) and hard to access. > On the federal level, we have laws on the books that allow jail time for violating copyright, which is basically violating a business model. I could see civil penalties, but jail time? I agree that jail should be avoided for non-violent criminals. Isn't copyright law a combination of civil penalties (for people who just download stuff) and criminal penalties (for people who operate a business based on downloading stuff)? So if I download a bunch of movies they can sue me for loss of earnings of those DVDs, but if I burn those movies to DVDs and sell them it becomes criminal?

humanrebar 11y ago
> The good bits of US healthcare are the bits provided and paid for by the government. Like the part where I have to spend hundreds of dollars to see a doctor for something silly? Most of the time I go to the doctor, he doesn't tell me anything any nurse couldn't (and it's probably something I knew myself, walking in). So costs go up. That's all government. See also the basically unchanging pay-for-treatment model with is more-or-less mandated by acts of Congress. Want to create a medical retail startup that charges flat rates based on outcomes somehow? List all of the risks in that plan. How many of them are due to government regulations? To be fair, maybe medical regulations are fair, but acting like the private sector ruined healthcare is ignoring the tradeoffs of those kinds of regulations. > loss of earnings of those DVDs Exactly. Violating a business model. So the company should be able to recoup their losses in civil courts if it's unfair competition. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criminal_Copyright_Law_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criminal_Copyright_Law_in_the_...
- stephenr 11y ago
  I know I shouldn't bite, but fuck it. > Like the part where I have to spend hundreds of dollars to see a doctor for something silly? Most of the time I go to the doctor, he doesn't tell me anything any nurse couldn't (and it's probably something I knew myself, walking in). So costs go up. That's all government. a) if it's something 'you already know yourself', why are you going to see a doctor? I've been to see a doctor (apart from return visits for a followup, or health certificates for my visa/work permit) a total of twice, in the last 10 years I'd say. Once I sliced my finger open (and it had to be cauterised) the other I had a weird allergic reaction to something and developed a rash. In that time I've had literally hundreds of cold's, the flu 3 times (in one year!) and plenty of small cuts bruises etc. Why didn't I go to the doctor for all of those? Because I don't need a doctor to tell me "drink fluids|take over-the-counter medicine|put a band-aid on it|keep warm" for basic health care. If you are visiting the doctor every time you have a cold or flu, maybe you need to stop complaining about your government being inefficient and start taking some personal responsibility. b) just because it costs 'hundreds of dollars' in America doesn't mean it has to. It's not a coincidence that your government is known around the world as being pretty ridiculous when it comes to getting shit done. Australia has universal health care, and there was recently a huge issue when the then-newly-elected government tried to introduce a $7 co-payment for each visit to a doctor. > How many of them are due to government regulations? American government regulations. Just because you have crazy laws, doesn't mean the rest of the world does.