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The average American "small-government" ruling class mentality chronically starves public goods and the commons from widely available resources, and then points

by kunai 7y ago

The average American "small-government" ruling class mentality chronically starves public goods and the commons from widely available resources, and then points to the failure of said services and goods as a reason why government cannot work. Eliminate this vicious circle and you see massive benefits; Chattanooga's municipal ISP has been extremely successful and popular. Also, municipal broadband or publicly owned broadband would not, on its own, confer a monopoly. There are numerous examples of industries and market sectors where a public option coexists with market options. This is commonly seen as the most likely solution to the healthcare crisis in the United States today.

chimeracoder 7y ago
> The average American "small-government" ruling class mentality chronically starves public goods and the commons from widely available resources, and then points to the failure of said services and goods as a reason why government cannot work. Eliminate this vicious circle and you see massive benefits; Chattanooga's municipal ISP has been extremely successful and popular. You can't just use this as a blanket defense. There are plenty of inept and corrupt local governments that are well-funded as well. > There are numerous examples of industries and market sectors where a public option coexists with market options It's not rightfully a "public option" if one of those is funded by taxpayer money and is capable of operating at a loss, whereas the private ones have to sustain themselves.
rayiner 7y ago
> chronically starves public goods and the commons from widely available resources, and then points to the failure of said services and goods as a reason why government cannot work This is the lie that people trot out to explain the myriad failures of American government. Our schools suck because they’re “underfunded.” Oh, actually, they’re among the best funded: https://images.app.goo.gl/r4QwEWefuP34DZSj8 https://images.app.goo.gl/r4QwEWefuP34DZSj8. Our public transit sucks because it’s “underfunded.” Oh, the New York Subway receives far more public funding than say London’s tube: https://nypost.com/2018/11/06/the-cure-for-new-yorks-ailing-transit-system https://nypost.com/2018/11/06/the-cure-for-new-yorks-ailing-.... If California could build HSR for what it costs France, half the line would already be done for the $6 billion already spent. There isn’t a failure of government that can’t be explained away by lying about its funding levels.
- chowyuncat 7y ago
  That first graph has no meaning without some granularity. Plot success of school against actual funding. It could easily represent 9 schools with 1000 per student and one school with 9000000 per student and result in 90 percent failing schools.

by kunai 7y ago

chimeracoder 7y ago

> The average American "small-government" ruling class mentality chronically starves public goods and the commons from widely available resources, and then points to the failure of said services and goods as a reason why government cannot work. Eliminate this vicious circle and you see massive benefits; Chattanooga's municipal ISP has been extremely successful and popular. You can't just use this as a blanket defense. There are plenty of inept and corrupt local governments that are well-funded as well. > There are numerous examples of industries and market sectors where a public option coexists with market options It's not rightfully a "public option" if one of those is funded by taxpayer money and is capable of operating at a loss, whereas the private ones have to sustain themselves.

rayiner 7y ago

> chronically starves public goods and the commons from widely available resources, and then points to the failure of said services and goods as a reason why government cannot work This is the lie that people trot out to explain the myriad failures of American government. Our schools suck because they’re “underfunded.” Oh, actually, they’re among the best funded: https://images.app.goo.gl/r4QwEWefuP34DZSj8 https://images.app.goo.gl/r4QwEWefuP34DZSj8. Our public transit sucks because it’s “underfunded.” Oh, the New York Subway receives far more public funding than say London’s tube: https://nypost.com/2018/11/06/the-cure-for-new-yorks-ailing-transit-system https://nypost.com/2018/11/06/the-cure-for-new-yorks-ailing-.... If California could build HSR for what it costs France, half the line would already be done for the $6 billion already spent. There isn’t a failure of government that can’t be explained away by lying about its funding levels.

chowyuncat 7y ago
That first graph has no meaning without some granularity. Plot success of school against actual funding. It could easily represent 9 schools with 1000 per student and one school with 9000000 per student and result in 90 percent failing schools.