I disagree with some of your points, here’s my take:
I came from a country which used to have publicly-owned assets, specifically gas and utilities (including communication/phones). They served a specific function, to subtly influence the market while still keeping it free. There were always private entities competing with it, and they still flourished by providing better service or value add, as opposed to the public option, which didn’t advertise, and only offered the bare minimum (at a cheaper cost).
There was a major push to move to privatization after and it was great for about 2 years before it became a race to the bottom. Since the barrier to entry was so high, there wasn’t really a free market for it, and things became an oligopoly and service went to shit. The old reliable ones are expensive and offered bad service, any newcomers get bought out or went bankrupt. I think public ownership is the middle ground, and needed to keep the “free market” truly free.
And not having anything other than equalizing resources is fine for now. As you said, it won’t solve all problems, but it will solve some, and prevent others. Then, we can start looking at other problems and adjusting.
My experience working in different countries is that: a rich nation is not one where even poor people can afford cars. It’s the one where even the rich people take the bus.
I would be interested to learn more about the financials of those public utilities. Were they a money pit for the tax payers or did they turn a profit? If they at least broke even I would concede that it’s a well balanced solution, although I would still need convincing it would work for groceries which have very diverse supply chains.
I was born in a fully communist country where everything was publicly owned and it resulted in staggering debt, stagnation, and ultimately war. Perhaps my experience is making me extra weary but when I hear someone suggest public ownership as the only solution I just can’t get behind that. I need to see that it’s a small part of a greater plan, which isn’t what Avi is offering.
I strongly disagree that waiting is “fine for now” when we’re being squeezed by the orange turd down south.
In all fairness it was a mixed bag. The gas and electric companies have been profitable til the end, but the electric company was an easy target for negative opinions since at the time, there were a lot of blackouts (we just had a major revolution at the time and a lot of infrastructure needed repairs).
The water company was a lost cause, it had been hollowed out by corrupt management when it became clear that it’s being set up for a buyout. It lowered the value of the company and the buyers were able to get it for real cheap.
I understand this is not the shining example, but there’s a lot there that worked, until it didn’t. I truly believe that in a healthy democracy that setup can still work.
And yes, agree to disagree on “fine for now”. I just don’t want perfection to be the enemy of good. I think just taking small steps into the right direction is enough, and we can build momentum off small wins
I disagree with some of your points, here’s my take:
I came from a country which used to have publicly-owned assets, specifically gas and utilities (including communication/phones). They served a specific function, to subtly influence the market while still keeping it free. There were always private entities competing with it, and they still flourished by providing better service or value add, as opposed to the public option, which didn’t advertise, and only offered the bare minimum (at a cheaper cost).
There was a major push to move to privatization after and it was great for about 2 years before it became a race to the bottom. Since the barrier to entry was so high, there wasn’t really a free market for it, and things became an oligopoly and service went to shit. The old reliable ones are expensive and offered bad service, any newcomers get bought out or went bankrupt. I think public ownership is the middle ground, and needed to keep the “free market” truly free.
And not having anything other than equalizing resources is fine for now. As you said, it won’t solve all problems, but it will solve some, and prevent others. Then, we can start looking at other problems and adjusting.
My experience working in different countries is that: a rich nation is not one where even poor people can afford cars. It’s the one where even the rich people take the bus.
I would be interested to learn more about the financials of those public utilities. Were they a money pit for the tax payers or did they turn a profit? If they at least broke even I would concede that it’s a well balanced solution, although I would still need convincing it would work for groceries which have very diverse supply chains.
I was born in a fully communist country where everything was publicly owned and it resulted in staggering debt, stagnation, and ultimately war. Perhaps my experience is making me extra weary but when I hear someone suggest public ownership as the only solution I just can’t get behind that. I need to see that it’s a small part of a greater plan, which isn’t what Avi is offering.
I strongly disagree that waiting is “fine for now” when we’re being squeezed by the orange turd down south.
In all fairness it was a mixed bag. The gas and electric companies have been profitable til the end, but the electric company was an easy target for negative opinions since at the time, there were a lot of blackouts (we just had a major revolution at the time and a lot of infrastructure needed repairs).
The water company was a lost cause, it had been hollowed out by corrupt management when it became clear that it’s being set up for a buyout. It lowered the value of the company and the buyers were able to get it for real cheap.
I understand this is not the shining example, but there’s a lot there that worked, until it didn’t. I truly believe that in a healthy democracy that setup can still work.
And yes, agree to disagree on “fine for now”. I just don’t want perfection to be the enemy of good. I think just taking small steps into the right direction is enough, and we can build momentum off small wins