My apologies Harry, I really should be more graceful. You are a good guy and remarkably consistentr in your thought. It is where your thought parallels the Know-nothings in America that I tag you with the uncomfortable feeling I experience from knowing that the rest of my life will be spent with morons and that I can never go home again.
Not to Picher which they destroyed, not to Oklahoma which they have turned into a camp of venal agendas nor to my family that has sold out for the prestige of having idiot members elected to the Congress of the Nation. I cry, my ancestors cry and my children will cry. That was the energy and the distain that I delivered to one Georgist Teacher in California. It also doesn't help that you sit so heavily on the land. But putting the argument aside. You didn't deserve the disdain. You have my apology. REH -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Ray Harrell Sent: Saturday, October 23, 2010 3:05 PM To: 'RE-DESIGNING WORK, INCOME DISTRIBUTION, EDUCATION' Subject: Re: [Futurework] private fire services Your ignorance of Tennessee is appalling but typically American. There is a war going on in Tennessee for the hearts of the people. I have many relatives from Tennessee and my wife is from Knoxville. To refer this to government as opposed to private is a silly statement filled with ignorance or venality. Put bluntly it is beneath you Harry. All of the world isn't California. REH -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Harry Pollard Sent: Saturday, October 23, 2010 2:23 PM To: 'RE-DESIGNING WORK, INCOME DISTRIBUTION, EDUCATION' Subject: Re: [Futurework] private fire services Stop arguing. It was a government service that allowed the house to burn. Just as it is a government service that could repossess your house if you don't pay your property taxes. A city doesn't have several fire companies competing with one another. That's silly. They contract with the company that provides the best service at the best price. If it doesn't do a good job, they fire it and hire another - something not possible with a government service. The "dumb trick" is the kind of thing that governments do, yet you seem to want to use them. I'll repeat that almost 9 out of 10 fire services in the US are volunteer or mainly volunteer. They do a good job. All your ramblings about competing fire services serving the community are imagination. There is no case against private fire-fighting. I'm sorry to confuse you with facts. Invariably, when the State decides to "provide" a profitable service, it rapidly turns unprofitable. Harry ******************************** Henry George School of Los Angeles Box 655 Tujunga CA 9104 818 352-4141 ******************************** -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Christoph Reuss Sent: Friday, October 22, 2010 5:31 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [Futurework] private fire services Harry wrote: > Only problem was that the fire service that allowed the house to burn > was a government service. > The city asked residents to pay $75 fee in addition to taxes. If public entities try to "privatize" their services (New Public Management etc.), the outcome is often even worse than if a private company would perform the services. So this case is still a case against privatizing public services. A truly public service (which also doesn't need a per-capita fee, which is just a dumb trick to raise taxes without raising taxes!) would _never_ let a house burn down -- in Europe, anyway. Remember that laisser-faire is the motto of the privatizers, not that of their opponents... > Private fire services appear to work and they are cheaper. Competition in this (non-)business doesn't make sense, i.a. because often _3rd parties_ call the firemen, not the owner of the burning building. They would often call the "wrong" company, which then would first have to find out which competing fire service company the owner has chosen as his provider, and then they would have to call their competitor to send him to the building. (Even if a single number like 911 remains, they would have to find out which local provider is the right one.) This would waste precious time while the building is burning. Worse, what if the chosen provider is further away from the fire than other competitors? This would waste even more time while the building is burning. If there is a state monopoly on fire services, always the nearest fire station will respond to a fire, and immediately from the first call to the one number. And real competition inherently MUST cost more, because it would mean that there are at least 2-3 competing fire services in EVERY location, each one completely equipped with all firefighting gear and vehicles (very expensive) and 24/7 readiness (personnel sitting around in the firestation), but all these investments for a non-expandable "market" (or do you want them to send pyromaniacs around to increase business? The one competitor who sends the most pyromaniacs to his customers, will win!). Plus the costs of advertising, which wouldn't exist in a state monopoly. So it all comes down to the real purpose of privatizing "non-profitable" public services: Making fat-cats richer, and externalizing costs! (Else, it would be a contradiction in terms: if it can be turned profitable, then the state itself could continue to provide it!) Chris ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SpamWall: Mail to this addy is deleted unread unless it contains the keyword "igve". _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [email protected] https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [email protected] https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [email protected] https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [email protected] https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework
