Arthur, Well asked!
I fear the tragedy is needed to get a bureaucracy moving. I'm not against government. However, government is not needed to do things that we cannot do for ourselves -- the usual banality. Rather, government comes into play when the situation cannot be controlled by the market. Infrastructure, and particularly roads and sewers and such like, are the responsibility of government. The Libertarians have a potty view that roads should be privatized. I have a vague memory that the IMF in Argentina imposed a policy of private roads. But, my memory may be at fault. In any event, the idea is silly. So, roads, sewers, local utility supply, telephones while they are tied to poles along the side of the street, cannot face competition and should be treated with the same formula I have described to Brad. The "rolling stock" should belong to the community. The running of the operations should be done privately, that is by performance bonded private management firms chosen by low bid. They are the basics. I think the community should have a police force and the central legal system. I think much of the policing can be done by private organizations -- as is done now. In fact, there are more " rent-a-cop" in the US than their are regular police. A highly professional fire prevention system runs in the suburbs of Phoenix. They use the most modern methods of fighting fires (their remote-controlled machines are sold to many other services). It's a volunteer system. When the fire bell rings, office managers are happy to let their personnel go off to fight the fire and so they should. Their insurance premiums are much lower because of the efficient firefighting. Ask any libertarian. They'll tell you all about it. They won't tell you about Grants Pass, Oregon. The city tried to install a private system of firefighting, but it failed miserably. Should education be privatized? I have already gone into that in another recent post. I think the competitive arena would be good for teaching. Nothing has been so bureaucratized as education. However, whether education should be privatized is far less important than our choosing the system that provides the best possible education to the greatest number of young people. We should ensure that young people have finished their education before they go off to college or university. Harry -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Saturday, November 08, 2003 6:35 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: RE: [Futurework] Wal-Mart... When corporate lathes run oval, the company loses business to competitors. There is a competitive incentive to keep capital in repair. When county bridges fall into disrepair from lack of maintenance---what then?? arthur -----Original Message----- From: Harry Pollard [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, November 7, 2003 7:00 PM To: Cordell, Arthur: ECOM; [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: RE: [Futurework] Wal-Mart... Arthur, As students read in my economic class, part of the job of Capital is to replace itself. It must also provide Interest enough for the lender to lend, and provide Labor with enough production advantage for it to be worth borrowing. They are the three jobs of Capital. When things are tough, the easiest thing for both corporations and governments to do is to delay (or forget) the replacement of Capital. No-one notices that the corporate lathes haven't been replaced in the machine shops - even though they are going downhill fast - perhaps producing ovals rather than circles. No-one notices that bridges, dams, and roads are patched rather than maintained. (People do notice and complain about the potholes which gets them a little tar - but little regular maintenance). In the US there are apparently umpteen thousands of pieces of infrastructure that have been "forgotten" while bureaucratic pensions are increased. As the direction of an advancing economy is toward cheaper manufactures, one must wonder why you blame these deficiencies on Wal-Mart. You have your present standard of living because of the constant market pressure downward on prices. But, you know that. -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, November 07, 2003 12:08 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: RE: [Futurework] Wal-Mart... Harry, we are living through the "race to the bottom" Looks good for a while. Wait until the bottom comes to a place near you. Why replace and keep infrastructure in good shape? Why maintain universal public health standards and health care? Maintaining standards in society is like keeping the mold at bay in your shower. You can let things go for a while. Relax and do other things. But the mold is still "doing its thing" arthur -----Original Message----- From: Harry Pollard [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, November 06, 2003 9:24 PM To: Cordell, Arthur: ECOM; [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: RE: [Futurework] Wal-Mart... Arthur, What steep price to the "national community" will be incurred by people being able to buy good qualities at lower prices. By golly, you sound like the local Chamber of Commerce, or any of the national corporate monopolies. Harry -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, November 06, 2003 7:59 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: RE: [Futurework] Wal-Mart... Quote from the Ruth Rosen article: "Now, the challenge is to convince Contra Costa County voters that the lowest possible prices come at a steep price for the entire community." arthur suggest, The lowest possible prices may come at a steep price for the national community as well (despite Harry P's protestations to the contrary) Great, you think. I'll apply. But Wal-Mart won't hire its own workers because the corporation isn't sure it's legal to use them to promote a political campaign. When you realize that Wal-Mart will pay higher wages to those campaigning to keep your wages low, you get angry - which is how I've learned about the Arkansas retailer's countywide plans to repeal the ordinance. Last June, the Contra Costa Country Board of Supervisors passed the ban when it recognized that Wal-Mart's seductive low prices come with hidden costs to residents. The retailer's subsistence wages drive down the pay of other workers; its huge super-centers undermine local small businesses and create more traffic congestion. Taxpayers, moreover, end up paying for workers' health care because they can't afford costly benefits on such low pay. In response, Wal-Mart - which never takes no for an answer - immediately parachuted in paid workers to gather 27,000 signatures to force supervisors to either rescind the ban or place the issue before the voters. Supervisors have put the question on the March 2 ballot. To fight off these restrictions, Wal-Mart has just launched a campaign to convince the community to vote "no." At its Martinez, Pittsburg and Antioch stores, Wal-Mart has hung banners and posters advertising its new "Consumer Action Network (CAN)," a rather transparent effort to persuade shoppers to vote against the limiting ordinance. Last week, workers at Wal-Mart handed out flyers that describe CAN as a "good government" program. (Many low-income shoppers, who receive some form of government assistance, might mistakenly think CAN is a government-sponsored program.) In exchange for signing a membership card (and providing your personal information), you get "a personal membership card, free newsletters, important bulletins and an invitation to special events." You also get a chance to fill out a voter registration application, which is conveniently mailed to Wal-Mart's CAN, rather than to the registrar of voters. If you want more information, you are referred to an 800 telephone number. But 20 calls to the number elicited the same response: "Only 'Kathy' knows about the program, she's on the other line, so just leave your name and number." Is it conceivable that Wal-Mart has hired only one person who is familiar with CAN? Or is this just a ploy to gather names and phone numbers to enlist shoppers in its political campaign? Meanwhile, a coalition of community activists is gearing up to support the ordinance. They include the nonprofit group ACORN, which promotes affordable housing and open space; union members; and religious, environmental and "smart growth" organizations. But they face a formidable enemy - the largest corporation in the world, which has unlimited funds to reach their intended goal of building 40 new super-centers in California. Supervisor John Gioia knows that "Wal-Mart will have a great advantage. It will also turn it into an anti-union campaign. So we need to appeal to the good sense of Contra Costa County voters and explain that this is about losing open space and taxpayers subsidizing Wal-Mart. It's also about Contra Costa County - not Wal-Mart executives in Bentonville, Ark. - having the right to make its own decisions about local planning. " Now, the challenge is to convince Contra Costa County voters that the lowest possible prices come at a steep price for the entire community. --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. 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