The Political Thread

[Beaky Smoochies]

Selling off our roads? *sigh*
It seems that the same greedy, murdering scumbags are behind this attack. According to The Guardian:
"The bankers NM Rothschild suggested in a report in 2010 that privatising the road network could raise £100bn. Government sources said the scheme proposed by Cameron would raise far less because he plans to lease out trunk roads and motorways, rather than embarking on a full-scale sell-off, as NM Rothschild suggested."
Oh, those pesky Rothschilds (Rothschildren?) - isn't it enough that they already own our money supply and vast swathes of our other utilities? Feudalism, anyone? One day soon, if we are not careful, we will awake one morning to find that we are mere serfs in the countries our forefathers worked and fought and died for to make free.
Okay, instead of going on about the evils foisted on us by these banksters I'd like to take a different tack and ask a simple question:
What is Government for?
Answers on a postcard to: David Cameron, 10 Downing Street, London - because I don't think he knows.

In all fairness, private companies would more than likely do a better job in the upkeep of roads if they had to compete for the contract to do it, free market competition, boys and girls, it DOES work you know...

And in answer to the (rhetorical) question of what is government for, well, to put it in a concise little soundbite; building roads, and protecting the populace from violence, fraud, and plague, and that's pretty much it, everything else can be dealt with by the free market, yes'm.

[JOE SOAP]

In all fairness, private companies would more than likely do a better job in the upkeep of roads if they had to compete for the contract to do it, free market competition, boys and girls, it DOES work you know...

What that requires is an Anarchist/Minarchist rather than just a standard Libertarian set-up and since it's never really been tried in modern "civilisation" no one really knows how it'd turn out. The infrastructure that serves the needs of the global distribution network of all resources needs to be scaled down -either by choice or force through crisis/collapse- and simplified by magnitudes starting from a base local level before it could even be tried. It would most likely happen in pockets where the less affluent eke out a living before the larger cities.

[Gonk]

If the building and upkeep of the roads was left to private companies motivated by the ethics of profit the U.K. countryside would soon be covered over with tarmac.

[Professor Bear]

I am surprised Britain is going down the crapper - an unelected minority imposing their will on the majority has always worked out so well in the past.

In all fairness, private companies would more than likely do a better job in the upkeep of roads if they had to compete for the contract to do it, free market competition, boys and girls, it DOES work you know...

In all fairness, privatisation has never improved services in the past and there is no evidence to suggest that would change with privatised roads.  What is far more likely is that the small number of companies in a position to actually undertake such a huge project would divvy up the road system amongst themselves, the more profitable sections of that newly-created cash-cow going to the private firms with the most political clout and the shaggy dog sections of roads with little profit to be had getting contracted to the metaphorical last turkey in the shop.

[Old Tankie]

So who do you think builds and maintains the roads now?  Fred and Bill from the Town Hall!  Many road schemes are already built by private companies.

[JOE SOAP]

the more profitable sections of that newly-created cash-cow going to the private firms with the most political clout and the shaggy dog sections of roads with little profit to be had getting contracted to the metaphorical last turkey in the shop.

That's the problem, once government exists, you can't really have a corruption-free, market.

[Professor Bear]

So who do you think builds and maintains the roads now?  Fred and Bill from the Town Hall!  Many road schemes are already built by private companies.

Speaking as someone living in a small town where many things are farmed out to companies by our council, this would explain why our roads are better than ever and no-one ever complains.

[TordelBack]

You could do what we do in the Republic of Lose.  Let companies bid competitively to operate toll-roads, but then when they aren't making as much money as they expected have the taxpayer make up the difference. 

Better yet, have central and local government implement a policy of actively discouraging car use through direct and indirect taxation and parking charges, benefit-in-kind tax on company parking spaces etc. (but make it clear that these revenues are essential for road maintenance, improving the urban experience, funding public transport infrastructure, and environmental reasons) and then wonder why toll numbers are down, and compensate the operators for lost business with the taxes you've already taken off road users (rather than spending them on, say, road maintenance, improving the urban experience, etc. etc,).  If you can, orchestrate an economic collapse to further reduce toll revenues, and further compensate the private operators from the public purse, borrowing at extortionate international rates to do so. 

Make sure all this is black and white in any contract you sign with private operators so future governments can't weasel out of their obligations to these cost-effective private operators without incurring huge penalties.

See also: refuse collection, swimming pools, the banking system...

[Roger Godpleton]

I'm with Mallory Archer when it comes to Ireland.

[COMMANDO FORCES]

The sooner Ireland becomes a theme park, the better for all who live there 

[TordelBack]

I'm with Mallory Archer when it comes to Ireland.

Yes, but she frustratingly doesn't provide an answer to her own most devious conundrum: should you eat the potato now, or let it ferment so you can drink it later?

[Roger Godpleton]

You should scrape together all of your government's mistakes and knit it a onesie.

[Professor Bear]

You could do what we do in the Republic of Lose.

Thankfully, TB, our wonderfully sectarian Assembly would sooner eat glass than adopt any policies of the South, which makes me more or less certain that they'll just find some kind of system which is even more stupid, unfair, and rewards the private sector with public cash and adopt that instead.  Strange but true: six counties full of alcoholics, boy racers and wife beaters don't need any A&E departments, but it does need a 10 percent salary hike for Assembly members.  Yay government.

[JOE SOAP]

You could do what we do in the Republic of Lose.  Let companies bid competitively to operate toll-roads, but then when they aren't making as much money as they expected have the taxpayer make up the difference. 

Better yet, have central and local government implement a policy of actively discouraging car use through direct and indirect taxation and parking charges, benefit-in-kind tax on company parking spaces etc. (but make it clear that these revenues are essential for road maintenance, improving the urban experience, funding public transport infrastructure, and environmental reasons) and then wonder why toll numbers are down, and compensate the operators for lost business with the taxes you've already taken off road users (rather than spending them on, say, road maintenance, improving the urban experience, etc. etc,).  If you can, orchestrate an economic collapse to further reduce toll revenues, and further compensate the private operators from the public purse, borrowing at extortionate international rates to do so. 

Make sure all this is black and white in any contract you sign with private operators so future governments can't weasel out of their obligations to these cost-effective private operators without incurring huge penalties.

See also: refuse collection, swimming pools, the banking system...

Yes, but we have all that Omnium yet to be mined.

[TordelBack]

Yes, but we have all that Omnium yet to be mined.

Keep it hush-hush, or they'll send Sergeant Pluck round to knock over our giant tree.