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That doesn't follow - I save money by hiring a plumber, who makes money from being hired. The city simply made an analysis of the number of roads they'd build

by Rule35 6y ago

That doesn't follow - I save money by hiring a plumber, who makes money from being hired. The city simply made an analysis of the number of roads they'd build over the years and the cost of being a capable engineering organization versus the premium of getting existing experts to build it. They probably don't generate their own electricity either, for the same reasons.

lotsofpulp 6y ago
Hiring contractors to build roads and having staff to do routine maintenance of roads is part of every city/state/federal government’s core competencies that I’ve ever lived in. The only reason they sell it off is to make cash now for whatever political reason at the expense of future taxpayers. The delivery of electricity is also handled by governments, or companies that are basically government since they have to run everything by governments first like price increases. Just like water lines and sewer lines. Electricity generation does not need to be government operated since it can come from multiple sources, but the delivery is just like roads since you can’t have multiple options to each destination.
dylan604 6y ago
When you hire a contractor, you pay for the work done and that's it. The state has allowed NTTA to have a lifetime contract of earning tolls on the roads even past the cost of building those roads. The contractor does not keep sending you bills after the fees have been paid for effectively creating mailbox money for the contractor at your expense.
- Rule35 6y ago
  > When you hire a contractor, you pay for the work done and that's it Generally, but I could plan to have that contractor back for each repair as long as they do a good job. > The state has allowed NTTA to have a lifetime contract of earning tolls on the roads even past the cost of building those roads Presumably they're responsible for maintaining the roads. We've simply decided to call them for repairs as long as they do a good job. > The contractor does not keep sending you bills after the fees have been paid If I defer up-front costs in trade for maintenance costs then they do. This is really handy some times.

by Rule35 6y ago

lotsofpulp 6y ago

Hiring contractors to build roads and having staff to do routine maintenance of roads is part of every city/state/federal government’s core competencies that I’ve ever lived in. The only reason they sell it off is to make cash now for whatever political reason at the expense of future taxpayers. The delivery of electricity is also handled by governments, or companies that are basically government since they have to run everything by governments first like price increases. Just like water lines and sewer lines. Electricity generation does not need to be government operated since it can come from multiple sources, but the delivery is just like roads since you can’t have multiple options to each destination.

dylan604 6y ago

When you hire a contractor, you pay for the work done and that's it. The state has allowed NTTA to have a lifetime contract of earning tolls on the roads even past the cost of building those roads. The contractor does not keep sending you bills after the fees have been paid for effectively creating mailbox money for the contractor at your expense.

Rule35 6y ago
> When you hire a contractor, you pay for the work done and that's it Generally, but I could plan to have that contractor back for each repair as long as they do a good job. > The state has allowed NTTA to have a lifetime contract of earning tolls on the roads even past the cost of building those roads Presumably they're responsible for maintaining the roads. We've simply decided to call them for repairs as long as they do a good job. > The contractor does not keep sending you bills after the fees have been paid If I defer up-front costs in trade for maintenance costs then they do. This is really handy some times.