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If governorate|governments were companies in the private sector they would quickly go bankrupt and out of business.
by stunt 8y ago
If governorate|governments were companies in the private sector they would quickly go bankrupt and out of business.
- Larrikin 8y agoPersonally I believe major infrastructure projects that are an obvious public good but may not be profitable for decades are the exact things my tax money should be funding since private companies never would. The Tokyo subway just recently became profitable and it's such a major net positive for the city.
- muzz 8y agoExactly. The costs are well-known, but the benefits are harder to quantify-- people being able to move around without cars, less air/airport traffic, etc.
- drak0n1c 8y agoJapan's private rail lines outcompeted their government rail lines early on, and led the growth of rail throughout the country over the past few decades. There is a way to do private rail right, and it looks a lot more promising than the track record of government rail in the US. https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2011/10/why-tokyos-privately-owned-rail-systems-work-so-well/389/ https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2011/10/why-tokyos-pr...
- Larrikin 8y agoJR was owned by the government when all the important lines were laid out. The subway system is technically private but jointly owned by the local and national government. The private lines can be successful because of the major push the government did to lay the tracks and make a successful system.
- exabrial 8y agocounterpoint: NYC Metro. The MTA Union has prevented any sort of automation, convenience, or safety technology from coming near the system and now it's being left in the dust compared to other cities worldwide. The taxpayers are left to keep throwing money at it because it's the only thing they have.
- gamblor956 8y agoCounterpoint to your counterpoint: The NYC Metro is actually 4 or 5 separate rail systems, all formerly private companies that went bankrupt. The MTA was created to salvage those rail lines in the face of private failure. It's FUD that the MTA Union has prevented "any sort of automation...etc" because it's simply not true. They've resisted specific types of automation while supporting other types. Changes were never implemented because the system lacked sufficient funding--it's controlled by the NY state government, not NYC itself. Most of the state is actually extremely conservative compared to NYC and generally resists implementing improvements to the MTA.
- tropo 8y agoThat "private failure" was forced by a price cap on subway fares that was left unchanged for decades worth of inflation. It was a sneaky way to bypass the US Constitution's prohibition of taking private property without compensation.
- sqd 8y agoMTA is the public transport system I like the most in the US. Even though it is outdated and crowdy, it has some really good coverage.
- trophycase 8y agocounter counterpoint: the NYC metro is far better than no metro at all.
- pg_bot 8y agoIf only the US had a history of tycoons building railroads...
- losteric 8y agoAnd if private companies were governments, they would quickly collapse or turn into dictatorships. What's your point?
- et-al 8y agoExcept your comparison is invalid because the core point of government is to serve the people (tax and fund positive externalities), whereas private companies want to maximize profits from consumers.