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>The only investments we need the "gift" of government to pursue are those that we get less value out of than we put into. Or those that need more than one per

>The only investments we need the "gift" of government to pursue are those that we get less value out of than we put into. Or those that need more than one person to implement. An entrepreneur can decide to buy a cab and offer rides to the airport - but there isn't much point unless a million tax payers have already got together and built the freeway.

sausman 16y ago
Entrepreneurs and businesses can hire workers just like the government can. And public works such as roads and bridges also apply to my argument. For example the infamous "bridge to nowhere". A lot of these projects are a waste of resources. If the private sector were in charge of building roads/bridges they would be much more inclined to make sure they were actually needed and good investments.
- cyrus_ 16y ago
  I don't understand why business project failures are treated like normal occurrences but government project failures are treated like fundamental and systemic problems with social democracy.
  - messel 16y ago
    It's hard to imagine a government which embraces risk and failure as par for the course for learning and improving, but it's worth doing.
  - juiceandjuice 16y ago
    Because people have been conditioned over the past 40 years to believe the government is wasteful, and failures just strengthen those arguments. Also, the government is generally lousy at PR, and people rarely understand how to connect the dots. The internet, (or specifically, world wide web), and google are good examples of things fostered initially by the government. Whether or not they might have happened without the government is debatable, but they did happen, and the government did help. The wins are far less visible than the failures.
- messel 16y ago
  Totally agree on the efficient market thesis, but not when it comes to big research and public works projects. In my post I reference an earlier short essay on mega projects http://www.victusspiritus.com/2010/01/13/think-bigger-short-sighted-thinking-has-left-those-who-inherit-our-imagination-with-a-grim-future/ http://www.victusspiritus.com/2010/01/13/think-bigger-short-... Some projects entrepreneurs can't build unless thousands of them get together. Many of these mega projects have resulted in very long term benefits. Hoover Dam, Panama Canal, Lunar Mission, DARPAnet are just a few ideas which entrepreneurs can't possibly tackle on their own, even massive corporate IR&D budgets can't be risked on such endeavors.
- tyhjnmyh 16y ago
  You could certainly build freeways/bridges as toll roads. All the 19C railways were built like this as are modern mega projects like the channel tunnel. There are some problems - do you allow compulsory purchase of land? If not then a single person can ransom your project if you do then you need government approval for each project. Upto 25% of the cost of some 19C railways were in legal fees to get the legal acts needed to build them

sausman 16y ago

Entrepreneurs and businesses can hire workers just like the government can. And public works such as roads and bridges also apply to my argument. For example the infamous "bridge to nowhere". A lot of these projects are a waste of resources. If the private sector were in charge of building roads/bridges they would be much more inclined to make sure they were actually needed and good investments.

cyrus_ 16y ago
I don't understand why business project failures are treated like normal occurrences but government project failures are treated like fundamental and systemic problems with social democracy.
- messel 16y ago
  It's hard to imagine a government which embraces risk and failure as par for the course for learning and improving, but it's worth doing.
- juiceandjuice 16y ago
  Because people have been conditioned over the past 40 years to believe the government is wasteful, and failures just strengthen those arguments. Also, the government is generally lousy at PR, and people rarely understand how to connect the dots. The internet, (or specifically, world wide web), and google are good examples of things fostered initially by the government. Whether or not they might have happened without the government is debatable, but they did happen, and the government did help. The wins are far less visible than the failures.
messel 16y ago
Totally agree on the efficient market thesis, but not when it comes to big research and public works projects. In my post I reference an earlier short essay on mega projects http://www.victusspiritus.com/2010/01/13/think-bigger-short-sighted-thinking-has-left-those-who-inherit-our-imagination-with-a-grim-future/ http://www.victusspiritus.com/2010/01/13/think-bigger-short-... Some projects entrepreneurs can't build unless thousands of them get together. Many of these mega projects have resulted in very long term benefits. Hoover Dam, Panama Canal, Lunar Mission, DARPAnet are just a few ideas which entrepreneurs can't possibly tackle on their own, even massive corporate IR&D budgets can't be risked on such endeavors.
tyhjnmyh 16y ago
You could certainly build freeways/bridges as toll roads. All the 19C railways were built like this as are modern mega projects like the channel tunnel. There are some problems - do you allow compulsory purchase of land? If not then a single person can ransom your project if you do then you need government approval for each project. Upto 25% of the cost of some 19C railways were in legal fees to get the legal acts needed to build them