Railroads In the UK, Hospitals In the USA

AZDuck

The "free market" doesn't make everything better. Shocking, but when you put a public utility into the hands of a limited stock company (whose reason for being is to maximize profit for its shareholders) - the public tends to suffer:

Would public ownership achieve better results? As the right-leaning Daily Telegraph recently pointed out, when a troubled private rail franchise run by a company named Connex was taken into public ownership from 2003 to 2006, performance, punctuality and passenger satisfaction all improved. Similarly, after the East Coast network was renationalized in 2009, it became the most efficient rail franchise in Britain, needing less public subsidy than any other and returning hundreds of millions of pounds in revenues to the public purse. To complete the experiment, when it was again privatized in 2015, ticket prices on some journeys doubled and public satisfaction declined.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/04/opinion/why-britains-trains-dont-run-on-time-capitalism.html?action=click&contentCollection=Politics&module=Trending&version=Full&region=Marginalia&pgtype=article

Similar things have been said about Medicare in the USA.

[L]et’s recognize that debates over administrative costs are usually proxies for debates over whether the public or private sector can deliver health insurance, or even health care, more efficiently. One thing that should be indisputable is that private administrative costs are higher.

https://newsatjama.jama.com/2013/04/24/jama-forum-are-health-insurers-administrative-costs-too-high-or-too-low/

dhdawg

blasphemy. the free market always works better. Even when it objectively doesn't

Intersectional_Dawg

If only the conservatives were actually trying to make things work better we might have a real debate.

Kaepsknee

It's almost as if one thing has absolutely fucking nothing to do with the other.


If you were to link the current cost of tea in China as a 3rd comparison , then I could have a better reference frame.

RaceBannon

Mussolini had the trains running on time. Ipso facto AZ Duck is a fascist.

AZDuck

RaceBannon said:

Mussolini had the trains running on time. Ipso facto AZ Duck is a fascist.

hard to argue with that logic

GrundleStiltzkin

AZDuck said:

RaceBannon said:

Mussolini had the trains running on time. Ipso facto AZ Duck is a fascist.

hard to argue with that logic

RaceBannon

Duck freedom fighter

doogie

Anyone who believes in rail as a transportation solution looking forward is an idiot

priapism

In the current system, hospitals can charge anything they want. System needs to be socialized IMO to contain costs. It's normal for an emergency room visit to cost $20,000-50,000 now. Oh, you didn't want that $500 Q-tip? Too late.

More privatization? Imagine getting a bill from the fire department for $35,000, for showing up to your car accident, because your car "appeared to be smoking". Add some collection agency costs on top of that for disagreeing with that charge.

Want a prescription for something? AMA lobby needs their constituents to get paid and for you to pay your local doctor a fee first before you get your drugs. Pharmacies already have consultations with you the first time you pick up a new med, rendering the doctor prescription visit totally unnecessary. A 2 minute visit with a pharmacist could probably replace most doctor visits.

Current new car dealership system monopoly, raises the average price of a car by $2500.

Some of you deserve these privatized monopolies.

RaceBannon

We called 911 for a medical emergency for my wife and the medic and fire dept pulled up paid for by taxes and put her in an ambulance that charged us 1600 dollars to go a mile.

Thanks public service!

RedRocket

RaceBannon said:

We called 911 for a medical emergency for my wife and the medic and fire dept pulled up paid for by taxes and put her in an ambulance that charged us 1600 dollars to go a mile.

Thanks public service!

Things got a little too kinky that night?