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I wouldn't put USPS and Amtrak on any list of "best organizations" but they do have a somewhat different structure than, say, the Department of Agriculture. If

I wouldn't put USPS and Amtrak on any list of "best organizations" but they do have a somewhat different structure than, say, the Department of Agriculture. If I can play devil's advocate for a moment: there are some businesses (passenger rail, universal postal system) that are not attractive to any private entity unless they're heavily subsidized. Nonetheless, there's a public interest in providing them. As for SpaceX: the tech boom's brought us some people with billions at their disposal, and space exploration IS within reach for them. I don't think there was anyone in the 60s with the money and the inclination to do that.

origin_path 4y ago
Some countries do have (theoretically) privatized passenger rail systems. It can be done without subsidies too, the UK nearly managed that for a brief period, but then decided to pay for the construction of huge new railways. If you aren't expanding the network though, subsidy free operation is possible. Of course we can argue they're not really private because in practice the government won't let them fail as a group. But in normal times at least, companies that want to exit the space can give up their license or be outcompeted for them. SpaceX exists because there's now lots of use cases for going into space. In the 60s indeed going into space wasn't so useful and it happened so early just because of the space race.
- AlbertCory 4y ago
  Yeah, the problem with passenger rail is, as you said, "the government won't let them fail as a group." In other words, they don't have skin in the game. It's also true that freight is a much more attractive business for a railroad, AFAICT. If you fuck up, you just compensate the owners; no one gets killed (most of the time). But the railroads don't have the option of just giving up passenger service, so they can make it so crappy that people leave

origin_path 4y ago

Some countries do have (theoretically) privatized passenger rail systems. It can be done without subsidies too, the UK nearly managed that for a brief period, but then decided to pay for the construction of huge new railways. If you aren't expanding the network though, subsidy free operation is possible. Of course we can argue they're not really private because in practice the government won't let them fail as a group. But in normal times at least, companies that want to exit the space can give up their license or be outcompeted for them. SpaceX exists because there's now lots of use cases for going into space. In the 60s indeed going into space wasn't so useful and it happened so early just because of the space race.

AlbertCory 4y ago
Yeah, the problem with passenger rail is, as you said, "the government won't let them fail as a group." In other words, they don't have skin in the game. It's also true that freight is a much more attractive business for a railroad, AFAICT. If you fuck up, you just compensate the owners; no one gets killed (most of the time). But the railroads don't have the option of just giving up passenger service, so they can make it so crappy that people leave