06-11-2010, 08:04 AM
Hi,
An elf riding a unicorn across my back yard is more likely than that.
No. Because the private company takes the money directly. The government taxes at an organizational level higher than those supplying the service. The items I mentioned (collecting, budgeting, and dispersing the money) all cost something. For the government to supply the service at the same price, it would have to be more efficient than the private company because it has (and has to have) more levels. Besides the probability of elves on unicorns, there is the fact that I stipulated the two were operating at equal efficiency.
Aside from that, I was not recommending or defending anything in my statement.
What I find humorous is that both extreme socialism and extreme capitalism require the same kind of population to work. In both cases, you must have people that are willing to work for the common good with no thought to personal rewards. Communism fails because people will not work without personal reward. Capitalism fails because people will only work for personal rewards.
As is so often the case, the solution lies somewhere in the middle. Unfortunately, many of these things are like a pendulum. They spend most of their time at one extreme or other until everything comes to a stop. Then they reverse, and head to the opposite extreme, passing the reasonable middle with the greatest rapidity. And, as each cycle is repeated, the only lesson learned is that nothing is ever learned.
Bah! I need another pain pill
--Pete
(06-11-2010, 07:14 AM)eppie Wrote: Yes, and a perfectly working communist state is more likely than this.
An elf riding a unicorn across my back yard is more likely than that.
Quote:But this is not the most important thing. What we need is . . .
. . . a good manager can make the government 'companies' just as efficient as private ones . . .
No. Because the private company takes the money directly. The government taxes at an organizational level higher than those supplying the service. The items I mentioned (collecting, budgeting, and dispersing the money) all cost something. For the government to supply the service at the same price, it would have to be more efficient than the private company because it has (and has to have) more levels. Besides the probability of elves on unicorns, there is the fact that I stipulated the two were operating at equal efficiency.
Aside from that, I was not recommending or defending anything in my statement.
Quote:It is just not in the nature of people to make a society like he advocates work
What I find humorous is that both extreme socialism and extreme capitalism require the same kind of population to work. In both cases, you must have people that are willing to work for the common good with no thought to personal rewards. Communism fails because people will not work without personal reward. Capitalism fails because people will only work for personal rewards.
As is so often the case, the solution lies somewhere in the middle. Unfortunately, many of these things are like a pendulum. They spend most of their time at one extreme or other until everything comes to a stop. Then they reverse, and head to the opposite extreme, passing the reasonable middle with the greatest rapidity. And, as each cycle is repeated, the only lesson learned is that nothing is ever learned.
Bah! I need another pain pill
--Pete
How big was the aquarium in Noah's ark?