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"The public infrastructure is terrible! Why should our taxes go towards this awful system?" Rinse, repeat. There are politicians pushing this in the UK (most n

"The public infrastructure is terrible! Why should our taxes go towards this awful system?" Rinse, repeat. There are politicians pushing this in the UK (most notably with the NHS) - starve [public institution] of cash, make it worse, bring in private companies to plug the gaps and provide a pathway to privatise the whole system. Everybody wins! /s

andrepd 8y ago
Same thing in Portugal. Happened with loads of public enterprises, now it's happening with trains. Block fleet renovations, investment into long-term sustainability, disregard expert's advice |> as it all comes inevitably crumbling down, point at it and go "look how terrible the rail system is, look how terrible the state is at managing enterprises" |> when the company goes 100s of millions in the hole sell it to a private company for pennies (preferably to some well-connected friends in this fucking revolving door "democracy") |> move on dismantling the next public enterprise
nostromo 8y ago
Well, the opposite view, "let's dump even MORE money into this black hole" is also not a smart path forward. New Yorkers pay handsomely for their mediocre transit -- an amount that always seems to be growing beyond inflation. And yet less and less seems to be returned for their largesse.
- afiori 8y ago
  Partly that is because you need to allocate money for upgrades and maintenance upfront otherwise you will get stuck in a pit of having no money because of old infrastructure and having old infrastructure because you have no money. The only way to make it work is to hold the private sector accountable of the quality they produce.
gotocake 8y ago
It’s important to note that in the UK a lot of people think the undercutting of the NHS by the Tories is privatization by the back door. For personal reasons (crony capitalism) and ideological reasons (small government has to be a crippled government) this appeals to people on the right in the UK and US, along with whatever passes for a Libertarian these days.

andrepd 8y ago

Same thing in Portugal. Happened with loads of public enterprises, now it's happening with trains. Block fleet renovations, investment into long-term sustainability, disregard expert's advice |> as it all comes inevitably crumbling down, point at it and go "look how terrible the rail system is, look how terrible the state is at managing enterprises" |> when the company goes 100s of millions in the hole sell it to a private company for pennies (preferably to some well-connected friends in this fucking revolving door "democracy") |> move on dismantling the next public enterprise

nostromo 8y ago

Well, the opposite view, "let's dump even MORE money into this black hole" is also not a smart path forward. New Yorkers pay handsomely for their mediocre transit -- an amount that always seems to be growing beyond inflation. And yet less and less seems to be returned for their largesse.

afiori 8y ago
Partly that is because you need to allocate money for upgrades and maintenance upfront otherwise you will get stuck in a pit of having no money because of old infrastructure and having old infrastructure because you have no money. The only way to make it work is to hold the private sector accountable of the quality they produce.

gotocake 8y ago

It’s important to note that in the UK a lot of people think the undercutting of the NHS by the Tories is privatization by the back door. For personal reasons (crony capitalism) and ideological reasons (small government has to be a crippled government) this appeals to people on the right in the UK and US, along with whatever passes for a Libertarian these days.