tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9612609.post8043849713213884614..comments2023-09-29T06:58:20.125-07:00Comments on Badtux the Snarky Penguin: Is government a "drag" on the economy?BadTuxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01345749557330760251noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9612609.post-65275867066741662052007-09-18T06:22:00.000-07:002007-09-18T06:22:00.000-07:00Really good exposition, BT.Really good exposition, BT.Lurchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08267495048064705949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9612609.post-46798279314674576482007-09-17T06:05:00.000-07:002007-09-17T06:05:00.000-07:00Hi Badtux, :)As I have said before, I enjoy your b...Hi Badtux, :)<BR/><BR/>As I have said before, I enjoy your blog for many reasons. I also have no love for the moronic ideologues and their brethren.<BR/><BR/>In the example you gave, the condo complex, you didn't mention the power of collective bargaining. :) It is quite true that splitting pool, road, etc maintenance into 300 small parts would be impractical and expensive (if even possible). But if all 300 Condo owners collectively bargained for the services, they could get a good competitive deal. Possibly as good as the local Gov could do, and it has been shown that in some cases better. If, however, yo take the idea further, and ask if the Federal Gov could effectively bargain for those services Nationally, compared to all condo owners collectively bargaining, I believe the answer would then be *yes*! However, this brings up the problem of competition. If the Fed Gov contracted a company to maintain all Condo and other public pools in the USA (for example), what happens to the other companies? And what happens to the Gov bargaining power then? (Halliburton anyone). The sad truth of life is that everything is a trade off... a compromise. What really should be done by the Gov (but rarely is) is to find a good common ground that will work to everyones advantage. (Yes, I am a dreamer! Or, I used to be). :)<BR/><BR/>I recently read a report by the Urban Land Institute that basically said that they believe the US infrustrature (road, rail, airports, dams, waterways etc) are in such a bad state, that it will cost a minimum of about a Trillion dollars, and take one or two decades or more, just to bring them up to basic safe standards! Over 3,500 dams are categorised as very unsafe, and all 79,000 or so need some form of maintenance. 97% of US roads need some maintenance. Chicago alone is estimated to need about $6bln just to bring it's subway system back up to safe and efficent service... etc, etc.<BR/><BR/>And sadly, as bbc said (above), it becomes about power and control. At the end of the day, the Gov are just people too. and they want what everyone wants... all they can get! "Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely." And that is the problem the USA (and many nations) are facing today. And the fault lies ultimately with the people. The people became lax and allowed the Gov to control them. The people forgot (but are now remembering rapidly!) That the *people* in the USA are supposed to control the Gov! I find it amazing that many US citizens don't even know, or understand, their basic rights. Until that is fixed... everything else is not worth worrying about. :) Maybe that old saying is true... People get the Government they deserve.<BR/><BR/>Cheers.<BR/>Kryten42Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9612609.post-14940257245662905682007-09-17T05:19:00.000-07:002007-09-17T05:19:00.000-07:00The key words to me are, "common services for thei...The key words to me are, "common services for their community".<BR/><BR/>But each government tends to grow and seek more control and power over all things.BBChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15323188240580782454noreply@blogger.com