While We Wait: Writer's Block & Other Lame Excuses

[North King]

I guess technically it depends on whether or not the cost of the tolls were greater or lesser than the portion of one's income taken in taxes for infrastructure spending.

Plus, you know, the tolls that the government levies anyway. At least 20% of which goes to that guy that's standing by the side of the road while the other one flashes you around the clearly marked road cones.

Well, it's more a matter of economies of scale -- and generally, you know, not screwing over people who don't live in areas that it would be profitable to serve. Like, slam the Bridge to Nowhere all you like, but it sure does make it easier for people to survive if the government's building roads to, you know, my hometown. I'm betting few corporations would bother.

(And restricting the potential for abuse, but you knew that.)

 

[Thlayli]

I mean, in practice, this is already happening all across America. Corporations fund development up front and get the rights to tolls for a certain number of years in return. It's really not abusive if managed correctly.

 

[Crezth]

All those useful services that someone attributes to the government would be of better quality, more efficient, with better oversight, and more accountability, if left to the free market.

Oh boy, here we go!

 

[North King]

I mean, in practice, this is already happening all across America. Corporations fund development up front and get the rights to tolls for a certain number of years in return. It's really not abusive if managed correctly.

Incidentally, tollways are not particularly nicer to drive on than freeways. Arguably they're way too annoying to be bothered with.

 

[Amon Savag]

There are other ways to do roads than toll roads. You realise that like half your gallon of gas is taxes. So if you spend 100 bucks a month on gas roughly 50 of that is your fee for "free" roads provided by government. And in my neck of the woods (missouri) these roads are poopy.

If all roads were privatized I would start a company that would network roads and allow people to pay a fee for using this road network. The people who own the roads would probably have shops and would allow me to use their roads for free, others I would rent from and guarantee the upkeep of.

Not saying this would be the solution but there are a plethora of ways we could be doing things RATHER than having the government in control and using their solution to the problem and threatening violence on all those who do not subsidize their particular method.

The police force of today's government isn't ripe with corruption? Hogwash. You are 80 times more likely in the USA to die to police brutality than to terrorism. What's worse is that the police get 3 days paid leave to get their story straight and collaborate with their fellow police every time they commit an atrocity. If privatized, these criminals would be held to the same murder standards that you and I are.

Security and justice are a commodity that people demand, thus it will inevitably be taken care of in the free market. Fire fighting is also one such thing that I would imagine that fire insurance companies would maintain.

Looking to corporations for these things is the wrong way to go too. If there is a demand for a road to go to your hometown for the transportation of goods and services, there will be a road built and maintained without the initiation of force. It may not look as pretty as the roads we have today, then again it might.. The important thing is that there would be no guns held to anyone's head forcing people into cages for not subsidizing policies that they do not agree with.

 

[Daftpanzer]

In the interests of it occurring to me, and because why not, I present the NES forum as high school cliques:

Principal - Lord Iggy
(Drunken) Assistant Principal - bombshoo
Social Studies Teacher - North King
The Cool Teachers - Imago, ChiefDesigner
Valedictorian - Symphony D.
Salutatorian - Crezth
The Nerdy Jock - Luckymoose
The Young Republicans - Thlayli, Jehoshua, EQandcivfanatic
The Rich Kids - Nuka, yui108, TheLizardKing, ZeletDude
The Punk Kids - Masada, azale, Amon Savag, Kraznaya, Karalysia, das, Shadowbound
Token Hipster - Lord of Elves
Foreign Exchange Students - Defacto, erez, JoanK, thomas.berubeg, Grandkhan, JK Stockholme
Stoner - Daftpanzer

If you're not on here then I guess no one likes you or something. Feel bad.

*I have a 2:1 undergraduate degree and a master's degree and I work in web development for a fairly big UK company. But yes, I do believe in the potential of humanity.

 

[Kozmos]

Security and justice are a commodity that people demand, thus it will inevitably be taken care of in the free market. Fire fighting is also one such thing that I would imagine that fire insurance companies would maintain.

By privately paid gangs of thugs and craigslists assassins? Firefighting is also a thing that worked amazingly when left in private hands back in Ol Rome and young America. You are just tipping the scales further to the advantage of people with money.

 

[mrrandomplayer]

In the interests of it occurring to me, and because why not, I present the NES forum as high school cliques:

Principal - Lord Iggy
(Drunken) Assistant Principal - bombshoo
Social Studies Teacher - North King
The Cool Teachers - Imago, ChiefDesigner
Valedictorian - Symphony D.
Salutatorian - Crezth
The Nerdy Jock - Luckymoose
The Young Republicans - Thlayli, Jehoshua, EQandcivfanatic
The Rich Kids - Nuka, yui108, TheLizardKing, ZeletDude
The Punk Kids - Masada, azale, Amon Savag, Kraznaya, Karalysia, das, Shadowbound
Token Hipster - Lord of Elves
Foreign Exchange Students - Defacto, erez, JoanK, thomas.berubeg, Grandkhan, JK Stockholme
Stoner - Daftpanzer

If you're not on here then I guess no one likes you or something. Feel bad.

 

[dominatr]

i second that crying

although i am a ninja and it would be better if i am not seen

 

[Amon Savag]

By privately paid gangs of thugs and craigslists assassins? Firefighting is also a thing that worked amazingly when left in private hands back in Ol Rome and young America. You are just tipping the scales further to the advantage of people with money.

Absolutely not. The scales as we speak are tipped too far in advantage of those with money, as they own the government. If we take away government they lose much of their advantage.

 

[Luckymoose]

Absolutely not. The scales as we speak are tipped too far in advantage of those with money, as they own the government. If we take away government they lose much of their advantage.

They don't lose money, so they won't lose advantage. Wealthy people without a government to check them are called nobility.

 

[Amon Savag]

Government does not check the wealthy. Wealthy buy government to enact policies favorable to them. I'm not sure which fantasy government you're thinking of that kept any rich people in check, but please link me. In each government there are wealthy that live by separate rules than the masses. The money isn't the advantage, it's the fact that they can stifle competition through government that gives them the advantage. If there is no government, we can all compete equally.

 

[Kozmos]

Competing equally meaning business forming an invisible hand circlejerk.

 

[Lord of Elves]

Libertarians of America unite! Towards a more Blade Runner-esue future.

 

[Luckymoose]

Government does not check the wealthy. Wealthy buy government to enact policies favorable to them. I'm not sure which fantasy government you're thinking of that kept any rich people in check, but please link me. In each government there are wealthy that live by separate rules than the masses. The money isn't the advantage, it's the fact that they can stifle competition through government that gives them the advantage. If there is no government, we can all compete equally.

My family used to literally own human beings. We can't do that anymore. Thanks government.

 

[awesome]

The police force of today's government isn't ripe with corruption? Hogwash. You are 80 times more likely in the USA to die to police brutality than to terrorism.

i'm not really disagreeing with you that police brutality is a problem, but statistics is basically the art of making numbers dance. don't believe me? sharks kill 5 people a year, while vending machines kill 13 people, hot dogs kill 70 children and falling out of bed kills 450 people every year. also according to that article, 30,000 people die every year from being fat. according to this one, that's almost twice as many people than the number of people who died in 2013 from terrorism.
so yeah, statistics isn't always the best argument. like i said, i'm not disagreeing that police brutality is a problem, because it is. i've never personally been beaten by a cop, but i have been harassed and asked dumb questions by them.


actually, there is one solution that seems to be working. i'm not sure if anyone has mentioned it because i don't feel like going through tons of posts, but in one californian city, cops have been wearing cameras. obviously, this isn't just to stop brutality, but it definitely helps. again, don't feel like wading through tons of posts, so if this has already been mentioned, ignore this paragraph.

 

[Amon Savag]

My family used to literally own human beings. We can't do that anymore. Thanks government.

Thanks government for institutionalizing slavery? What the frick is this? How ignorant.

 

[North King]

On the subject of "opting out" -- it's pretty much impossible to opt out of certain things, or at least from receiving their benefits. You're still getting, you know, fresh fruit and vegetables, seafood, toys, guns -- basically everything that is not manufactured within your town itself is served by having the interstate highway system. If you want to opt out properly, you'd just leave the country and go live in Antarctica.

 

[Lord of Elves]

Thanks government for institutionalizing slavery? What the frick is this? How ignorant.

The American government broke southern plantation-owners (private, monied interests acting within an international free market) and freed their slaves.

So, thanks government for crushing the institution of slavery, an invention of a free market that needed cheap cotton. Don't forget that southern landowners used slaves as a means of demonstrating wealth and social status, because somethingsomething "but slavery was inefficient!" Also, the slave power. Supply and demand are an amoral natural force. Put down the Ayn Rand and take a deep breath.

 

[Amon Savag]

The American government broke southern plantation-owners (private, monied interests acting within an international free market) and freed their slaves.

So, thanks government for crushing the institution of slavery, an invention of a free market that needed cheap cotton. Don't forget that southern landowners used slaves as a means of demonstrating wealth and social status, because somethingsomething "but slavery was inefficient!" Also, the slave power. Supply and demand are an amoral natural force. Put down the Ayn Rand and take a deep breath.

What an ignorant piece of crap post this is. Slavery absolutely could not have been if there no government to keep the slaves that wanted to opt out in bondage. The American government endorsed slavery right from the beginning. Wow I would figure that the NESing community would be a little more intellectual than THIS. I am very surprised, to say the least. I withdraw.