[lsbskins1]

Quote by: Milton Bradley Heh, you finally came up with what you think is a good example. Unfortunately, in the long term, they are proving to be too costly, and there is talk of privatization.

There is also "talk" about overthrowing our current government because they are really part of the "One World Government" conspiracy. There is also "talk" about ending public schooling. All that "talk" is coming from pretty much the same place. Want to show me some statistics that establish that the highway system has not been a net gain for the country?

Quote by: Milton Bradley What example/examples are you referring to?

Read "The Jungle" by Upton Sinclair. Study the civil war and how our troops were sold rancid meat and cardboard bottomed boots. We regulate because private industry proves over and over again that they need regulating.

Quote by: Milton Bradley Yes, but you cite the exceptions, and not the rule. Of course we can always find bad examples of either philosophy, but show me a government operation that can be compared to the Better Business Bureau. They manage to operate in the Black every year. And I hope you note the irony of me throwing a "bureau" in your face as an example.

The government is not a "for profit" entity. Most of the services the government provides are prone to being "in the red" opperations. You can't put an Army in the field and make money on the enterprise. The benefits are not directly monetary. In the long term, big picture they mostly are, but not on a year to year speadsheet basis. It costs real money to buy school books. You do not get direct return. What you get is a literate populace that creates greater productivity for private enterprise. The government almost always "looses", but society gains. Private enterprise looks at those year to year speadsheets and tries to limit those costs, ignoring the long term gains. You need to get out of the "what does it cost me NOW" blinders and start thinking of things in long term, indirect gains.