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A pathetic example of the ideological myopia that plagues Europe these days. States have provided services to their inhabitants since prehistory, and the notion
by banach 4y ago
A pathetic example of the ideological myopia that plagues Europe these days. States have provided services to their inhabitants since prehistory, and the notion that this infrastructure does not need financing is as healthy as a corporation that thinks it does not need to invest to succeed. At best, this strategy of living off of investments made by previous generations is doomed to underperform compared to states that take an active role in their own development.
- Aloha 4y agoI don't know if this is a European wide problem or just a UK one.
- solarkraft 4y agoDefinitely applies to Germany. Our infrastructure is deeply fucked and we missed all the chances to innovate after 16 years of conservative rule, but the balance sheets look nice though.
- philpem 4y agoIt certainly seems worst in the UK.
- skrebbel 4y ago> compared to states that take an active role in their own development. I'm not sure I follow your argument. Which non-European states do you think do this well?
- noahtallen 4y agoWe don’t even have to zoom in on Europe. In the US, it’s quite common for folks to expect public services (like public transit or even the USPS) to be profitable. Which means these services don’t get the investment they really need.
- userabchn 4y agoIf it was providing a service of as much value as was being spent on it, then why shouldn't it be profitable?
- orev 4y agoHaving a profit motive drives a behavior of raising prices as high as the market will bear. That inherently excludes citizens who cannot afford to pay the “most efficient” price, who are often the ones who need the service the most (e.g. busses and other public transport). That reduces the ability for society to operate as a whole. If someone can’t afford to get to school, or to an entry-level job, how will they ever be able to move up in skills and pay? Who will the high-end electronic store sell their products to if people can’t afford them? Municipal services are meant to serve as many citizens as possible, not to extract as much profit as possible, because it’s an overall benefit to everyone.
- dragonwriter 4y ago> If it was providing a service of as much value as was being spent on it, then why shouldn't it be profitable? The entire point of a public service is that benefits accrue to people other than the direct consumers of the service.
- feet 4y agoPublic services are profitable. You just need to look at the systemic effects of having the services available instead of just dollar signs Just looking at money is incredibly short sighted and naïve
- tomcam 4y agoWhat percentage of US taxpayer money should go to subsidize money-losing services?