>Well in that case you're taxing people who don't use it to pay for it. This is what I jokingly call the Libertarian's Lament: anything I don't use is a waste

>Well in that case you're taxing people who don't use it to pay for it. This is what I jokingly call the Libertarian's Lament: anything I don't use is a waste of money. >If it can't get enough people wanting to use it at what it costs to run, I can see that as a good argument it shouldn't exist Government services are not meant to run at a profit, which I think is the crux of the argument from private service providers: "We can't compete with someone who doesn't run for a profit, because it leaves us no room for a margin." Which is true. Then again I'm glad no one is trying to supply me water or sewer services at a profit and personally think privatizing electric service was a mistake. So from my perspective it's preferable to have a utility ISP.