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The author of this article can't seem to acknowledge the evidence staring him in the face. First, he criticizes public transportation initiatives in the United
by RPLong 8y ago
The author of this article can't seem to acknowledge the evidence staring him in the face. First, he criticizes public transportation initiatives in the United States, such as mass transit and airports. Then he says infrastructure isn't all bad here, and mentions ridesharing and telecommunications. Indeed, rideshare and telecomm are not public works here in America. Our brightest lights are the ones supplied by private enterprise. If the author could make his way outside of public-funding enclaves like New England and LA, he might also discover the many private airports that dot our country while being run quite smoothly. It's amazing what can happen when a government committee is not put in charge.
- azinman2 8y agoYes you end up with such amazing privatized infrastructure wonders like Comcast. Privatization isn’t a magic bullet.
- RPLong 8y ago1) I didn't say anything about a "magic bullet." 2) Private enterprise is a different concept from privatization. 3) I don't believe it's mere coincidence that everything the author likes about US infrastructure is privately supplied, while everything he suggests is "humiliating" is publicly funded -- do you?
- mixmastamyk 8y agoAirports are publicly funded?
- RPLong 8y agoGee, folks... https://www.faa.gov/airports/ https://www.faa.gov/airports/ https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-14-658T https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-14-658T
- mixmastamyk 8y agoSure there is some funding, but believe a majority is paid for with fees and taxes.
- RPLong 8y agoThe exact funding numbers, and the exact extent to which airports are controlled by the FAA, are supplied in the two links above. There is no point arguing. If you're under the impression that airports are an example of private enterprise, I suggest you review the two links I provided. If you already did, I suggest you do it again. Some things are not worth arguing about, especially when the facts are right in front of you, and this is one of them.
- mixmastamyk 8y agoWhy do you think this is an argument?
- RPLong 8y agoYou need to read more carefully. There are a series of "if" statements in the above comment, along with some statements expressing my unwillingness to argue some points. Only you can say whether the "if" statements apply to you. Only you can say whether you will try to argue any of those points.
- AnthonyMouse 8y agoComcast isn't a public service, it's a private monopoly. If it was a privatized public service then the network would be owned by the municipality and maintained by a private company under a contract which is put up for bids every few years, in the same way that the roads are owned by the municipality which puts private contracts up for bid to do road maintenance. Privatization works when the government retains ownership over the infrastructure and never signs a contract for longer than ten years. Anything else is almost certainly corruption, and nothing in government works when the government is corrupt.