6 ms·
We waste so much money on initiatives and social programs that can be administered much more sensibly and cheaply by local communities. Community leaders can cu
by legerdemain 6y ago
We waste so much money on initiatives and social programs that can be administered much more sensibly and cheaply by local communities. Community leaders can custom-tailor their approach to what their community needs, instead of a blanket, one-size-fits-all nationwide programs that waste money.
Many of them could be run as community charities or even profitable businesses, if national government would just get out of the way and let innovation work its magic!
And I mean well-intentioned, but wasteful programs like:
- libraries (partner with publishers instead!)
- grand-making arts programs
- mandatory Common Core preschools (instilling a dislike of education from a young age!)
- programs for reduced-cost and free lunches (just use surplus food that already exists!)
- community colleges (can be run for profit)
- job retraining programs (we already have technical schools!)
- public health and drug rehab (pharma companies can step-up instead)
- national parks and wildlife preservation (why not let the market decide which ones are worth it?)
Suddenly, we'll have taken a big bite out of our unsustainable debt!
- LatteLazy 6y agoThe issue with the US system is that 99% of local actions are unsustainable. Everything is federal or nothing, even at the state level you end up socialising losses and privatising gains. .
- legerdemain 6y agoSo is it worth having any of these things at all, or are they inevitably a net negative in the long run anyway?
- tommica 6y agoI think it is worth having them - not sure that going for-profit on those is a healthy thing
- LatteLazy 6y agoWhy not just change the system. The US is about the only place on earth with this weird system forcing every town and county and city and state to compete. It doesn't seem to work. No one seems to have designed it, it just turned out like this.
- tootahe45 6y agoI'm getting bombarded with articles about people fleeing high tax states with out of control, ineffective govts. Can you explain which part isn't working? i've been under the assumption that state competition is one of the best parts about the US.
- LatteLazy 6y agoWell... Healthcare, education, social work and infrastructure are all failing in the US for this specific reason. Don't get me wrong, maybe that's how the US likes it? I'm a brit, it's not my business how you run your country. I was just saying, when you said these things should be done voluntary by local groups, that doesnt work because it's designed not to because that's how the US is. It's great for lower taxes and as long as that is the o ly thing that you care about, you're golden!
- AnimalMuppet 6y agoNo, that was deliberate. Governments aren't omniscient. If a government is bad, stupid, or just mistaken in what the right policy is, it's better if that doesn't affect the whole country. And if there's another state right beside it that does better, the first state can see that other policies work better and might get their act together. But if it was the federal government, it would affect everyone, not just one state. Also, there wouldn't be 50 examples for them to pick the best from. (There are other countries, but their circumstances tend to vary more than the circumstances between states, so it's easier for naysayer to argue that the example doesn't really apply.)
- kpozin 6y agoPlease keep Poe's Law in mind.
- LatteLazy 6y agoVery true
- socalnate1 6y agoHoly cow, this is the worst list I've ever seen. These are (almost) all things I treasure and I would hate to see abandoned to the wolves. Are you seriously suggesting libraries as wasteful programs and that Pharma companies run drug rehab programs! I can't tell if this is a troll comment or not. In case it is not just trolling, I suggest you read about the tragedy of the commons: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_commons https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_commons
- legerdemain 6y agoWhat led you to believe that I haven't heard of the tragedy of the commons? It's an inescapable little parable that's in the foreword of every intro textbook on economics. In case you haven't read the wiki page you linked yourself, privatization is exactly the solution to the tragedy of the commons, and illustrating the benefits of private enterprise is exactly why the tragedy of the commons is ever brought up.
- socalnate1 6y agoOk, you've convinced me that this isn't a troll account like it originally appeared. Can you elaborate on your proposal to have pharma companies run drug rehab programs and "partner with publishers" rather than have libraries run as they do?
- legerdemain 6y agoGiven your initial comment, it is hard for me to see you as a good-faith conversationalist. I decline the opportunity.
- UhDev 6y agolol!!!
- tibbydudeza 6y agoYep it makes perfect rational sense to have Purdue Pharma run the Oxycontin addiction treatment program.
- youeseh 6y ago"To a hammer, everything looks like a nail."
- whack 6y agoI'm genuinely curious and a yes/no answer would be sufficient: is your post intended to be a parody?
- legerdemain 6y agoIf I limit myself to yes and no: yes.
- dang 6y agoPlease don't take HN threads on generic ideological tangents. An internet forum like HN can't do anything interesting with that—it just turns into tedious, nasty flamewar. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&sort=byDate&type=comment&query=generic%20ideolog%20by:dang https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&sor...