(no subject)

[tori-dobbs.livejournal.com]

Comments

Re: It applies here too.

[redheadrat.livejournal.com]

The private companies are offering a DIFFERENT service.

Re: It applies here too.

[dr-pepper-spray.livejournal.com]

Yes, but it's still mail. If you didn't have the option then private companies could do whatever they wanted.

Re: It applies here too.

[redheadrat.livejournal.com]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA they could do whatever they wanted.

No it is not just mail.

Re: It applies here too.

[dr-pepper-spray.livejournal.com]

Yes, they can do whatever they wanted. UPS or FED EX could jack their prices up to high hell if they so choose, but to the loss of their customers. People would just say "fuck it, it doesn't have to get there over-night." or they'd just drive the fucker. If the Usps was a private player then whats to stop them from colluding to keep the price artificially high? What, some government regulation?

Re: It applies here too.

[redheadrat.livejournal.com]

Government did a pretty good job of stopping collusion back in the time, maybe we should not blame the companies, but have a better look at the government?

Re: It applies here too.

[dr-pepper-spray.livejournal.com]

Yeah, when we had a rough rider in office. Sorry, but in the case of something like the US mail service, Education, or Health care the best way to keep the market from burning you is to have a public barrier.

Re: It applies here too.

[redheadrat.livejournal.com]

barriers work in both directions

Re: It applies here too.

[dr-pepper-spray.livejournal.com]

Uh huh.

Re: It applies here too.

[dwer.livejournal.com]

no they don't. USPS, FedEx and UPS all offer overnight delivery. They all offer tracking. They all offer second day delivery. They all offer bulk shipping. The only difference is that USPS has exclusive rights to the mailbox on your door.

And that USPS tends to be less expensive for letters.

I have received contracts in the mail, via UPS, via FedEx. I have received packages in the mail, via UPS, via FedEx.

Re: It applies here too.

[redheadrat.livejournal.com]

Read up on the facts, mailbox is a very small issue.

Re: It applies here too.

[dwer.livejournal.com]

I have read up on the facts. It's all a small issue.

Re: It applies here too.

[redheadrat.livejournal.com]

to you

Re: It applies here too.

[dwer.livejournal.com]

I'm sure you lie away, sleepless and in agony, over how Equifax got in trouble for violating the law.

Re: It applies here too.

[redheadrat.livejournal.com]

No, I just think that using USPS as an example of a success in free enterprise is a failed case, as it is not a free enterprise, it is a government protected, endorsed and engaged monopoly.

Re: It applies here too.

[dwer.livejournal.com]

well, since I never said that it was an example of a success in free enterprise, we're all good. You can sleep at night now!

Re: It applies here too.

[terminator44.livejournal.com]

In other words, you believe that private monopolies are bad but public monopolies are good. Why?

Re: It applies here too.

[dwer.livejournal.com]

should there be a public monopoly on national defense?

Discuss.

Re: It applies here too.

[terminator44.livejournal.com]

An interesting question. A more question more to the point would be: Can there NOT be a public monopoly on national defense? Who would pay for fighter aircraft, tanks, and nuclear missiles in a anarchist society (assuming an anarchist society can exist)? After all, since the threat of invasion is collective for a community, most individuals wouldn't see the benefit to themselves, so nobody would want to pay for it. This phenomenon is known as the Free Rider Problem (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_rider_problem). Even if some people did pay, what of those who do not pay?

The monopoly of the USPS on letter mail is much different. Letter delivery is a desirable service to the recipient and the recipient alone. It is far easier for a mail truck to not deliver letters to non-paying customers than for a military to refuse to defend territory owned by those who did not pay into it. The two aren't the same situation, so try to stay on topic.

Re: It applies here too.

[dwer.livejournal.com]

I think they're far more similar then you think. They both require a great deal of coordination, large numbers of people, equipment and dedicated time.

But then, I don't see every single thing the government does (except bombing brown people) as some sort of thievery, so...

Re: It applies here too.

[dwer.livejournal.com]

Just because I don't like what the DoD is doing, doesn't mean I think it should be contracted out to private companies. Blackwater wasn't exactly a bunch of angels in Iraq, and there was, if possible, even LESS accountability for them.

Re: It applies here too.

[terminator44.livejournal.com]

They both require a great deal of coordination, large numbers of people, equipment and dedicated time.

Private enterprise isn't capable of providing these things? I didn't argue that PMCs couldn't replace the military, but that they likely would not. By contrast, UPS and FedEx would almost certainly compete with the USPS with letter delivery service if only they could. You have not explained why they should be prevented from doing so. Instead, you have changed the subject.