tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post3938900197281059691..comments2024-03-29T04:34:05.185-04:00Comments on CURMUDGUCATION: California Is Burning: One More Argument Against Privatizing EducationPeter Greenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16511193640285760299noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-6312926313035649112019-10-15T11:25:28.506-04:002019-10-15T11:25:28.506-04:00PG&E is your example of bad capitalism? The sa...PG&E is your example of bad capitalism? The same PG&E which is practically a monopoly thanks to government intervention? Government granted monopolies / oligopolies are not capitalism. Energy is one of the most regulated and monopolized industries going back over 100 years.<br /><br />In fact every industry that are politically hot topics are heavily regulated. Finance, energy, telecom, medical, education. Calling any of that "free market" or "capitalism" shows a gross ignorance in the meaning of those terms or the facts of the matter.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-82446644117432467402019-10-13T17:53:30.159-04:002019-10-13T17:53:30.159-04:00As a capitalist, I believe more options are better...As a capitalist, I believe more options are better than fewer options, and any monopoly is a bad idea. Therefore, private education is best when offered side by side with public education. And vice versa. Parents should have the option of where to send their kids. Capitalism works in retail, shipping, manufacturing, and many other areas. Unscrupulous men and women exist in the public sphere too, so I appreciate having options about where I spend my money. Nobody beats the Post Office for mailing a letter at a low price, but UPS and FedEx are better for many packages with higher priorities on timing of delivery. As with anything, oversight is necessary to ensure those with fewer scruples are kept in check. In the public sphere that’s done through voting. In private, it’s done through regular inspections.ErikaStonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17154449652504459850noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-51958775997957335502019-10-12T11:22:46.766-04:002019-10-12T11:22:46.766-04:00The problem is a privatized government service has...The problem is a privatized government service has profits it can use to not only bribe politicians to give them more contracts and less oversight, but also to mount PR campaigns to sell the public on how much better they do it than a purely government program.<br /><br />Non-profits with government contracts have the same advantage since they are often shell companies that hire for-profits to do the actual work, and they donate to that PR effort.<br /><br />A well-run efficient government program doesn't have that slush to sell itself.<br /><br />Very often, if there are problems with a fully government run program, politicians intentionally created them, so they could point at them later to show the "need" for contractors to fill the void they created or take over the function altogether.<br /><br />This is the kind of stuff that should be taught in civicsProfessor Smartasshttp://professorsmartass.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-23956214755683864062019-10-12T10:12:37.927-04:002019-10-12T10:12:37.927-04:00Dr. Seuss was VERY anti-fascist, actually. His po...Dr. Seuss was VERY anti-fascist, actually. His political cartoons in PM during World War II show that. He has some racist blindspots, but he certainly didn't "reverence fascism." Here's a link to his cartoons if you want to see more: https://library.ucsd.edu/speccoll/dswenttowar/Overworked Teacherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04191581386973944938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-64175084393890176992019-10-12T08:47:55.054-04:002019-10-12T08:47:55.054-04:00Yup, well said.
It's not as if this is a new...Yup, well said. <br /><br />It's not as if this is a new understanding. I remember growing up knowing that some other cultures and even institutional companies valued, say, social opprobrium or community morals. You do not have to structure a society on maximizing wealth. But we have been at this for so long that we know no other way. <br /><br />Yet we are seeing now the implosion of this ideology, unchecked. Antitrust laws were supposed to halt that runaway monopolization degeneracy. But we seem to have added removal of any regulation to our brand of capitalism and like those planes, our economy seems headed for the ground at 600mph too. <br /><br />"Business is business and business must grow, regardless of crummies in tummies you know". <br /><br />Dr. Seuss is unfashionable these days for his reverence of fascism, as I understand it. But it's complicated. I think the "balances" part of these equations is critical, and the system itself is secondary to the corrective measures. I'm no political scientist. But the experiment we're doing here does seem to be pretty poorly working out.rqilanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-71853950955520333522019-10-12T00:14:08.440-04:002019-10-12T00:14:08.440-04:00Right on.Right on.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com