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Gas Bandit's Political Thread V: The Vampire Likes Bats
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GasBandit
Staff member
... which is why the USPS has an enforced legal monopoly and is STILL going bankrupt and closing branches, while fedex and ups still flourish via a loophole?
I can think of a few examples; mail for one.
They are going bankrupt because of the mandate to service everyone possible.
I don't think FedEx or UPS could handle 600,000,000 items a day.
USPS charges .44 for a letter. The same letter with FedEx is what? $4.00 or more?
I don't think FedEx or UPS could handle 600,000,000 items a day.
USPS charges .44 for a letter. The same letter with FedEx is what? $4.00 or more?
Fedex and UPS don't handle anywhere near the volume of the USPS, by whole orders of magnitude (about 2 billion versus 150 billion), nor do they maintain anything approaching the same frequency of delivery (which is a far larger problem). Assuming that they would automatically do better (especially considering that they rely on USPS delivery infrastructure for their non-expedited deliveries and envelope deliveries), has no basis. Over time, with major infrastructure upgrades and increases in postage rates, possibly, but you can just as easily say that you can make the USPS better if they streamlined their operations and charged advertisers more for junk.
GasBandit
Staff member
Wonder how much junk mail I'd get if the senders had to pay 4 bucks a pop.
Conversely, I wonder how many churches will be able to send out weekly fliers, how many small businesses will be able to send out advertisements, or how many federal services will be able to send out notices to everyone in America?
Look, Gas... prices don't drop over night and no private business is going to be able to match the infrastructure the USPS already has in place for many, many years. The USPS DOES have some serious financial issues but it's still the best option we have unless a competitor has several hundred billion dollars to dump into putting post offices around the world like the USPS already has.
GasBandit
Staff member
Like I said. Junk mail.
Oh, you're correct in that the infrastructure isn't there currently and would take years to ramp up, but consider this story -
In houston, there was (for a brief amount of time) a man who supported himself by setting up a messenger service between the major hospitals of the area and other buildings in the Texas Medical Center. It was one man and his car, ferrying envelopes and boxes between the hospitals with several stops at each building each day. He charged a flat fee per building which worked out to be less per parcel than the post office, and most often you'd get same-day delivery of whatever you had him sent. It was a massively convenient and economical arrangement for the hospitals and the man was able to support himself doing it. He provided a service which earned him a sustainable profit.
Until one day, when one of the hospitals decided that he should give them free service. When the man refused, they reported him to federal authorities, who shut him down because they ruled him to be operating in competition with the post office.
This happened in the late 1980s.
Imagine if the federally enforced monopoly on letter and package delivery had not been in effect for the last 30 years. Would the postal service be any worse off, really? Would entrepreneurs like the gentleman described, over the course of decades, been able to put their profits toward expanding and growing their businesses and perhaps starting to create their own infrastructure?
Saying that only the USPS has the infrastructure for nationwide delivery NOW is a justification for their continued monopoly, or as proof that private business could never compete, is completely fallacious. Given the same (or even lesser but still reasonable) ramp-up period, private industry could indeed come to surpass and replace the USPS. But we're chained to our bloated, bureaucratic inefficient nightmare because that's what government does - it gets control of something, preferably something that controls some aspect of your life, and then it never lets go. It gets bigger and more invasive until the whole thing eventually just collapses.
So. Don't you look forward to the day when your health care is on par with the level of service you receive from the post office, a public school, the department of motor vehicles, the Transportation Safety Administration?
Somehow, Gas's worldview reminds me of "Land of the Dead". The rich and powerful in their tower, living completely as though a zombie apocalypse never happened. The poor and downtrodden living in a shanty-town just beyond the tower's perimeter, living in hopeless poverty while excess is found just a stone's throw away.
Strikes me as Gas's idea of a utopia - no government, the rich hold all their money, the poor get fucked.
Strikes me as Gas's idea of a utopia - no government, the rich hold all their money, the poor get fucked.
From what I can tell, it is in response to the Governor saying he would be pressuring to lay off the teachers if the bill isn't signed into law by tomorrow. It is only preliminary at this point, but after what he said in the phone call with the blogger idiot, the Dems are pretty peeved at him.
Is that different that what's happening now?
GasBandit
Staff member
Which is the standard jump-to-conclusion straw man all leftists seem to make about libertarians. "Ooh they want less government so THEY MUST WANT NO GOVERNMENT AT ALL AND HATE POOR PEOPLE!" I'm not a pluto-anarchist. Government is necessary to prevent injustice and for common defence. But a government that is powerful enough to give you everything you want is powerful enough to take everything you have.
Yeah. In LotD, Zombies were brainless, ruthless people with the singular intent of bringing down the people in the tower who were oppressing the people they exploited. In reality, they are intent on bringing down the people who are being oppressed... which is themselves..
Says the man who just said that there was "nothing a federal bureaucracy can do that the private sector can't do better for lest cost" (emphasis added). Nothing. Not a damned thing. Not tax collection. No business regulation. Not enforcing laws. Not providing for the common defense. Nothing. There is nothing that the federal government can do better or even as good as the private sector. Nothing. But you don't want to get rid of it. Because then people might think you're an asshole.
EDIT: And just so this doesn't devolve in quibbling over the semantics of what you said, the dictionary defines "beurocracy" as:
The military is a bureaucracy by that definition (1 and 3, really), as would be the SEC, the FDA, and the federal court system. According to you, they could all be better handled by the private sector. Either you don't think before you speak, or your views are inconsistent. One of the two.
Things keep getting worse: WI assembly passes Budget Repair Bill... but refuses to let Democrats vote. This means that said vote could likely be illegal, but we'll have to wait and see if it goes to court before we'll know for sure.
Mind you, this doesn't change the fact that they can't DO anything about the budget until the 14 Democratic Senate members return to the state to vote, as they still need to resolve the quorum to vote on the budget.
Mind you, this doesn't change the fact that they can't DO anything about the budget until the 14 Democratic Senate members return to the state to vote, as they still need to resolve the quorum to vote on the budget.
I really wish Tom Barrett had won that election. This nonsense is going to go on forever.
Editorial in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel explains my thoughts on the prank call better than I could have.
Editorial in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel explains my thoughts on the prank call better than I could have.
GasBandit
Staff member
Meeting Young Obama.
Once again, an Arab dictator is employing criminal violence in a desperate effort to remain in power - and once again, the Obama administration has been slow to find its voice.
Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi considers Barack Obama a friend?
George W. Bush or Sarah Palin would be destroyed for this one. But not Obama.
Want to know who is meeting with the president? Too bad. In order to keep meetings off the logs, the White House is now holding meetings in a complex just off the White House grounds.
Look out Republicans ... Democratic strategists believe their Tea Party moment has arrived.
This Muslim arrested in Texas on a federal charge of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction (for the purposes of jihad) will appear before a federal court this morning.
Thirteen of the fourteen Wisconsin Democrat state senators have received generous contributions from unions over the years.
Harry Reid says that his Democrats are making $41 billion in budget cuts. Oh really?
The latest excellent column from Victor Davis Hanson: After Obama, the Deluge.
Michael Barone answers the question, who benefits from government unions? I'll bet you already know the answer, but here are more details.
Been feeling like it's all doom-and-gloom lately when it comes to the future of this country? Maybe this article in Bloomberg will make you feel a little better.
One interesting way to help turn around education in this country.
Who ranked as the most conservative Senator in 2010?
Poll: 22% think health reform has been repealed.
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker questioned by Madison police chief.
Once again, an Arab dictator is employing criminal violence in a desperate effort to remain in power - and once again, the Obama administration has been slow to find its voice.
Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi considers Barack Obama a friend?
George W. Bush or Sarah Palin would be destroyed for this one. But not Obama.
Want to know who is meeting with the president? Too bad. In order to keep meetings off the logs, the White House is now holding meetings in a complex just off the White House grounds.
Look out Republicans ... Democratic strategists believe their Tea Party moment has arrived.
This Muslim arrested in Texas on a federal charge of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction (for the purposes of jihad) will appear before a federal court this morning.
Thirteen of the fourteen Wisconsin Democrat state senators have received generous contributions from unions over the years.
Harry Reid says that his Democrats are making $41 billion in budget cuts. Oh really?
The latest excellent column from Victor Davis Hanson: After Obama, the Deluge.
Michael Barone answers the question, who benefits from government unions? I'll bet you already know the answer, but here are more details.
Been feeling like it's all doom-and-gloom lately when it comes to the future of this country? Maybe this article in Bloomberg will make you feel a little better.
One interesting way to help turn around education in this country.
Who ranked as the most conservative Senator in 2010?
Poll: 22% think health reform has been repealed.
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker questioned by Madison police chief.
Thats sickening. And no surprise.
Duh, this is why I think some of the outrage I've heard about how those poor defenseless unions are being picked on is just silly (I'm looking at you local MPR people), these people spend tons of money to attack the republicans and suddenly it's shocking that they are in the repubs targets? Come on... I don't think Walkers bill should go through without some serious changes and compromises but lets not pretend like Unions are just some innocent bystander in the political war.
Perhaps, but I doubt it'll have as good of a name. As much as detest their politics, I can't deny that their name stirs up exactly the kind imagery they want to portray.
Men lowering their scrotum into other men's mouths? Nootch.
And on the other side, companies who contribute to Republicans and demonize Democrats. Is it any wonder the Dems support the workers?
Good... for them? I'm not really sure what your point is. It sounds like you are saying that unions support democrats and companies support republicans ,which even the most basic google search will tell you that isn't even remotely true. But even if it was I'm not sure what it has to do with what I said?
GasBandit
Staff member
What do you mean, "so it doesn't devolve into quibbling about semantics?" You're already quibbling about semantics, pulling out dictionary definitions and reinterpreting statements. It's obvious to anyone who doesn't have a political chip on their shoulder (and a head full of helium) that what I said was that there "nothing" that a private entity couldn't do better and cheaper, I was only talking about quality and cost.
No, I understood exactly what you meant. I ain't reinterpreting shit. If you truly believe that everything can be provided at a higher quality and lower cost by the private sector, how do you defend having a publicly funded military? Or SEC? Or FDA? According to you, they are wasting our money and getting inferior results. Should they not then be done away with, just like are advocating for public schools and the post office? Why not? Why not take the leap to full on anarcho-capitalism?
T
TheBrew
What else is there? Oh that's right, availability.
Hey, as long as a good or service is quality and cheaper who cares who it is available to?
There are certain services that should be available to all for the function of a vibrant citizenry. That includes mail and health care (and available doesn't mean that a person has to go into severe debt to get). Do you really think that UPS will set up a mail route to Podunk, Alaska unless they started to charge $10 per letter?
But I guess to the libertards, the only function of government is to keep the citizenry from getting violent against their corporate masters.
T
TheBrew
Missing an 'er' there.
Because it is portmanteau of "libertarian retard" instead of "liberal retard", and everyone know it is always ok when the side you like does it.
He does, insult aside, get to what I feel is the heart of the matter - part of the reason private industry can outperform government bureaucracy in many areas is because it has the option to say "no". It can decide "we won't service this area" or "we'll set admission standard X". They can streamline their services, their customer base, their service area, etc, etc in order to maximize profit. That is their right, it is the responsible thing for their shareholders/owners to do, I do not begrudge them that. However, that does mean that there will wide swathes of the population that can't afford/use/qualify for the services offered. The federal government doesn't have the option because it, by definition, is meant to serve everyone. It provides for those for whom private industry can't. Now, I personally disagree with the way the post office is run and feel that competition with it should be allowed (because taking a measure of the burden off of it would help it in the long run), but no private corporation would ever be able to replace it.
I enjoy that I've been called a "lib" here. I hold left wing positions, I hold right wing positions. The utopian far ends of the U.S. political spectrum, Libertarianism and Socialism, both have some very good ideas but rely entirely to much on people choosing to act in a way that benefits the totality of society over themselves. Socialism requires the government to stay benevolent, Libertarianism requires private businesses and individuals to indulge in charity to a level presently unimaginable. A mixture of ideas from both is the only way I see to make things work. Naturally, our two party system of two giant tents trying to fit half the political spectrum each inside makes it incredibly hard to vote my beliefs, but whatareyougonnado?
Oh motherfuck you Gas. One dude. One. Out of a bunch who disagree with you, two of which call the dude out on this use of the term. Fuckin' hell man.
Yeah, I gotta agree with Norris there Gas. We may all disagree on politics, but we ARE all still friends here and we do our damnedest to keep it civil. That's why Brew got called out for his comment and if it hadn't been Krisken, it would have been me doing it. Don't act like your better than us or that a single instance of name calling validates your position.