@wundayatta That’s an excellent question, and one we truly need to have a national conversation about. There are a number of things that governments do better than private industry, and should do for the good of the people.
Corporations exist for one purpose, to make profits for their investors. They may advertise about how much they love their customers or how much they want a clean environment. It’s much more profitable to cover these bases with marketing hype than product R&D. They use marketing to create demand. They advertise to convince us last years clothes look lame this yer and need to be replaced. They advertise to convince us that the newest electronic toy we just had to have last year was supposed to fail within 6 months to 2 years. This is normal. And besides, we need to junk it anyway because an even sexier model just came out. Governments don’t create demand, they do things that are for the greater good of the society. They collect the garbage, police the streets, defend our shores, put out our fires and such.
Put put private enterprise in charge of firefighting, nationwide. How can they maximize profits? More fires! Garbage collection? More garbage is needed. Education? Longer and less effective classroom experience. Prisons? Criminalize everything and lock the entire population up. Road construction? If it won’t generate tolls, don’t build it. Think how much a shipment would cost if it had to cross the entire USA on toll roads.
Medicare is a perfect example of something that needs to be a government enterprise. Privatize it, and see how long the average 70 or 80 year old senior can afford to buy health insurance. Most of them couldn’t get private coverage at any price.
Those who claim they think government is best eliminated have the option right now, today, to book the next flight to Somalia. There they have a paradise without taxes or government all set up for those who yearn for it. Funny why none of them are lining up at the airport. And if they succeed in destroying what we have built in the last century here out of their misguided belief that keeping all their taxes will make then rich overnight, I think they are going to find angry mobs coming for them with pitchforks in hand.