> If the government feels poorer folk can't afford services they need, > it could give them money to pay for them. A much more sensible use of > tax money than giving the operators subsidies and telling them to > lower their prices for everyone, including the majority who can afford > to pay. > IMHO the flaw here is the difficulty of getting consent from taxpayers who are not eligible for the benefit, for targeted support to a circumscribed group. If I can afford to pay, and am paying partly through tax-based subsidy and partly directly, at least I feel I am getting some benefit. If I am paying the same amount, and know the person next to me is getting a free ride because of tax subsidy, I will vote for the party which offers to give me back my tax subsidy.
A second flaw with privatisation is that operators will only provide what it pays to provide. For example, on the canal system, I doubt if any of the BCN system except for the bit round Gas Street Basin is economic, and the same applies to e.g. the Huddersfield, Basingstoke etc. > > Adrian > Sean
