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I love how you put that! When the utility is operated by the government we, the people, have more direct control of how they operate. We don't have to put up

I love how you put that! When the utility is operated by the government we, the people, have more direct control of how they operate. We don't have to put up with laws which encourage mass surveillance and data retention [1], 3rd party doctorine which makes all of your data owned by the provider you are using so you have no rights over them, and the governments ability to just ask or provide a gag ordered request to get all your data. This cuts out the middle man and allows us to demand our communication rights directly from the government instead of muddying the waters by allowing a 3rd party corporation advocate against the consumer/citizen. [1] https://techcrunch.com/2017/03/28/house-vote-sj-34-isp-regulations-fcc https://techcrunch.com/2017/03/28/house-vote-sj-34-isp-regul...

throwaway0a5e 5y ago
You're not wrong but I think the end result of really depends on the state or city. Government isn't actually accountable if the voters don't hold the politicians accountable for the actions of the bureaucracy. In my area any government service or department always accumulates over time all sorts of backhanded ways to manipulate the poor, ostensibly for their own good by proxy of societal good (which is basically just a charitable way of saying "forcing them to act the way a bunch of jerks with million dollar homes think they should"). It's not quite to the level of "unpaid parking tickets get your house skipped by the trash guys" but every year there's yet another "scandal" where they get caught pushing that kind of envelope and have to promise not to do it again. Private industry here is a little more trustworthy in the "won't abuse you" regard. Of course they'll try to screw you out of every penny you have but that's pretty much where it begins and ends. Whereas with government there are all sorts of aspects they care about.

throwaway0a5e 5y ago

You're not wrong but I think the end result of really depends on the state or city. Government isn't actually accountable if the voters don't hold the politicians accountable for the actions of the bureaucracy. In my area any government service or department always accumulates over time all sorts of backhanded ways to manipulate the poor, ostensibly for their own good by proxy of societal good (which is basically just a charitable way of saying "forcing them to act the way a bunch of jerks with million dollar homes think they should"). It's not quite to the level of "unpaid parking tickets get your house skipped by the trash guys" but every year there's yet another "scandal" where they get caught pushing that kind of envelope and have to promise not to do it again. Private industry here is a little more trustworthy in the "won't abuse you" regard. Of course they'll try to screw you out of every penny you have but that's pretty much where it begins and ends. Whereas with government there are all sorts of aspects they care about.