Dennis Tester writes, "Those who defend public property and oppose "privatization" with the passion that Mr. Keillor does, are really opposed to the idea of free markets. . . . In fact, one could argue that it's in the public's best interests that they be replaced with privately-held institutions. To use the NPR questioner's examples: "... schools, libraries and transportation ..."
If we to follow Mr. Tester's logic, there would be no public schools, no libraries, no public transportation, no public parks. He asks some questions. I'll answer them and then I trust he will answer some of my questions. 1) Which school is rated higher by U.S. News & World Report, for example? Carlton College or the U of M? ANSWER: Carlton College. Question for Mr. Tester, what is the tuition at Carlton College and what is the tuition at the University of Minnesota? Question for Mr. Tester, what percentage of Minnesotans can afford to send their kids to Carlton College versus the University of Minnesota? 2) Where is a reader most likely to find the book they are looking for? Amazon.com or the public library? ANSWER: Amazon.com Question for Mr. Tester, what does Amazon.com charge for a copy of Bill Clinton's biography and what does the St. Paul Public Library or the Ramsey County Library charge for a copy of Bill Clinton's book? Question for Mr. Tester, what does AOL, Microsoft USFamily Net charge for internet access a month? Question for Mr. Tester, what does the St. Paul Public Library and Ramsey County Public Library charge for internet access or to use their computers? 3) Which mode of transportation gives the user the most freedom to go exactly where they want, when they want? A private car or a city bus whose route and schedule is set by someone else? ANSWER: A private car Question for Mr. Tester, what costs more to use in financial terms, a car or public transportation? Question for Mr. Tester, what is the annual cost of owning and operating a car versus using public transportation? Question for Mr. Tester, what is the difference in environmental costs between using a car and taking public transportation? Question for Mr. Tester, what would it cost you to drive, in tolls, daily and annually, if we privatized I-494 to drive from MacGroveland to Eden Prairie and back each work day? Question for Mr. Tester, what would it cost you to educate your children, if we "privatized" or sold all the public schools to Jeremy Riddle's group? Question for Mr. Tester, what would it cost to get into Yellowstone National Park, Yosemite National Park or the Tetons, if we sold them to Disney? And a final question for Mr. Tester, what public services or assets in America do you think should be sold off to private enterprise and explain why you think private enterprise would do a better job running them than government? Unfortunately, like so many advocates of "privatization" Mr. Tester, is only concerned about his taxes. He fails to see how taxes actually provide for the public good of all of us. Our schools, our parks, our highways, water treatment plants, sewage systems, the military benefit all of us. Advocates of privatization apparently fail to see how taxes provide for a commonweal that benefits all of us. Look to Iraq to see how well private corporations work instead of the government. The Defense Department is essentially letting Halliburton, (Vice President Dick Cheney's former company), run a huge part of the effort, under a no-bid contract costing the America taxpayers a staggering $187 billion dollars. That is $617.10 just this year alone, for every man, woman and child in America. Halliburton's thievery has gotten so bad that the Defense Department is now holding back 15% of every bill Halliburton submits. Without public schools, without libraries, without public highways we would create a permanent underclass in America, limiting education, training and literary only to those who can afford it. That is what has made America so great and so strong. Our schools and other public institutions have allowed generation after generation to come to America and achieve success. Now advocates of privatization are saying, "I've got mine, we don't need to give anymore." People like this think "I've got my car", why do we need public transportation"? People like this think "I can order any book I want from Amazon.com or can go into Barnes and Noble, why do we need libraries"? People like this think "I've got internet access at home, why do those libraries need all those expensive computers"? People like this think, "Hey, I can afford to send my kids to Carlton, why should I have to subsidize the University of Minnesota"? I remember reading a post in the not too distant past about someone on one of these boards who moved back to Minnesota from Texas. He talked about how the taxes were lower, but he had to pay for everything the state and city provided. (Unfortunately Mayor Kelly is trying that too.) He said he spent, as I recall, close to $10 a day just on tolls. Is this what we want? Dan Dobson Summit Hill --- Dennis Tester <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Fair enough. And I apologize for being rude. But > the point I was trying to make (and admitedly, made > poorly), was that there's no inherent reason to > "protect" public institutions, simply because > they're "public." In fact, one could argue that > it's in the public's best interests that they be > replaced with privately-held institutions. To use > the NPR questioner's examples: "... schools, > libraries and transportation ..." > > Ask yourself: > > 1) Which school is rated higher by U.S. News & > World Report, for example? Carlton College or the U > of M? > > 2) Where is a reader most likely to find the book > they are looking for? Amazon.com or the public > library? > > 3) Which mode of transportation gives the user the > most freedom to go exactly where they want, when > they want? A private car or a city bus whose route > and schedule is set by someone else? > > Those who defend public property and oppose > "privatization" with the passion that Mr. Keillor > does, are really opposed to the idea of free > markets, the basis of which is the right to private > property. But frankly, I really don't think it's > the exclusive belief system of republicans (e.g., > "in the age of Republican privatization.") Or > perhaps, Mr. Keillor, who is not a republican, > wouldn't mind if I went over to his house and drove > away in his new SUV. Afterall, apparently it's as > much mine as it is his. > > > Dennis Tester > Mac-Groveland > St. Paul _____________________________________________ To Join: St. Paul Issues Forum Rules Discussion Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] _____________________________________________ NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul Archive Address: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/
