Only the truly wise who immediately resort to insults and tired cliches actually think things through.:rolleyes:

Nice thoughts up thread though. We all like people. No one should be left to starve. Even people who live in the sticks. But again....that isn't the argument. The simple question is, is there anything government can do more efficiently than private industry. To include delivering junk mail in rural Idaho. If you think the choice is FedEx, UPS or USPS, you must not have seen all the small feeders that work out of the same places we fly into and out of. If there's a demand, there is someone who will provide the service. Unless the government inserts itself with taxpayer funded, free enterprise killing, could never survive on their own, "services".
And for those not closely associated with the military, you would be amazed at how much of our traditional military tasks are now contracted to civilian corporations. At all levels and at all places. And in most cases, it actually works better than when the military tried to do everything.
But to touch the original topic of this thread, if cutbacks in ANC or OAK happen, it is because the demand does not justify the costs. That doesn't necessarily mean people in Alaska or Oakland will no longer have access to overnight shipping. And the Asians won't lose it either. But because FedEx can't print its own cash, or mandate the top 30% of income earners in America donate more of their paychecks to pay its bills, FedEx adjusts. And remains profitable, efficient and reliable as it shrinks some of its shipping methods and grows others.

Enough of this though. I apologize for my role in massive thread creep, and I will depart without adding a bunch of halfwit comments about prized liberal icons. That would be too easy.

Well said, Rock! Harrumph! Harrumph!

Blazing Saddles - We Must Do Something! Harrumph! - YouTube

Course not, it extends far beyond just "rural living". People at all extremes of our society that you would deem "not worth it" under the "business model".

The fallacy is that we can't really take absolute responsibility for everything. We can be generally responsible humans, but unless we have our own fallout shelter, our own farm, our own hospital, our own currency, our own manufacturing, and so on, we really aren't responsible for everything, that's where the society comes in and we all pay in to help each other out, in many different ways that don't even approach communism.

Ok? It does cost more to send via the post office to many destinations when we are talking anything other than a bulk letter. Perhaps you are referring to how the post office isn't allowed to touch the money they bring in, instead they are given a "budget" that doesn't have anything to do with their revenue, because the revenue goes into a general fund?

And there will still be expensive and complicated processes that cost many times what simple things do, like transplants, brain surgery, and so on. If someone is just barely making it or at a difficult time (just started an FO job)? So do we just let those people die? Maybe we should let them die as soon as they have indicators of the condition? Maybe send them all to an island to die together?

And all the goods delivered to you or that involve transportation on the roads? Roads that allow your friends and family to go from point A to B? Emergency services when they use the roads? Roads that enable everything else about your lifestyle and quality of life? This is getting utterly ridiculous. What about your neighbor when he has a heart attack? Screw him, I don't use the roads? It seems like a fundamental lack of understanding of why we have the infrastructure system and how much you benefit from it.
And what would ensure that those roads are actually kept to standards? That the ships don't sink every other day? How would you ensure that this doesn't turn into an operation like Nigerian airlines? There would be no regulation, no incentive to do it right, so you'd still see the neighborhoods with the million dollar mansions with nice perfect roads, and then a pot holed rutted mess everywhere else. What about the safety of those engaged in those transportation operations? Does anyone care if they run off the road and crash into your wife?

Probably only have to look as far as countries that are run almost entirely by corporations.

Many times. What are you talking about? There's no border check, there's no asking for papers, there's nothing significantly different about the traffic rules. ???!!!:confused:


lol

Well said James

One of the biggest problems with healthcare is you can't find out the total cost of a procedure before you have it done. I'm talking non-cosmetic. Billing knows but will not share the information. A big deal is made out of the buying power of a large number of insured to make a "deal" on pricing. This is only an issue because Healthcare operators are allowed to charge some more for the same procedures, medicines and equipment and don't feel it's necessary to give the patient any pre-service pricing information.

We have federal laws to ensure auto leases explain all fees but Congress has decided to let the Healthcare industry have their way with us.

If truth in pricing were mandated, we could comparison shop for our health services and decide where and what to have done. We would make smarter choices. Hospitals might even compete on price. That's the American Way and we are being denied it by the Healthcare Insurance lobby and Congress.

All this Managed care that we deal with is about keeping care from us to save money. Or charging a few outrageous prices because they aren't in on the deal everyone else negotiated.

Giving us (individual patients) real pricing information and power would give us more healthcare for less money.

The truth is somewhere between you two.

I agree government should not be replaced by business, but it could run more efficiently...more like a business. Government can learn from business and needs the lesson ASAP.

The "whatever you want to call it now" cuts in federal spending demand this shift. But first, you have to deal with entrenched and powerful bureaucrats that will push back. Take the FAA. When their budget got cut they pushed back with proposed tower closures and a promise of endless delays. Congress blinked.

If the Executive Branch has cojones, the leadership of the FAA and/or DOT will change. The replacements will be directed to better manage their cuts. If they fail, fire them too. Eventually someone will find the right place to cut while maintaining an acceptable level of service.

The recent IRS official refusing to answer to the people shows how arrogant and privileged these bureaucrats are. We need a MASSIVE shakeup. There is a price to be paid for nearly unmanageable debt and the bill is due.

Perhaps we could get these private businesses' former management teams to do a better job than our government:

Worldcom
Kmart
Texaco
UAL(or any of the hundreds of bankrupt airlines)
Lehman Brothers
Adelphia Communications
Circuit City
Trump(4 times)
Washington Mutual
Borders
Tyco
Circle K
GM
Blockbuster
CIT
Federated Dept stores(Macy's)
Conseco
Enron
PG&E
Global Crossings, LTD.
Chrysler
...etc

Looks like the new health care might not be so awful after all...

Agree with this.

You made a point that you didn't mean to.

Yes, the government is run like the a corrupt/inflexible business. Many on your list share similarities. We need it to be better. We need to do it smarter.

The military's strict adherence to the flying hour program almost defines fraud, waste and abuse. Generals/Admirals think it strengthens their department but it just makes them a bigger target for cuts.