Government Budget Cuts
Though privatization of illegitimate government functions will have to be done under the principle of individual rights if it is to last, let's hope that privatization by lack of funds helps give us time to get the right ideas out into the culture. And the latter is starting already, see this story on Colorado Springs (the second largest city in CO).
posted by Amit Ghate at 11:37 AM
2 Comments:
Your headline, "Government Budget Cuts," is exactly on target. The article describes what happens when a government cuts its budget -- while still controlling properties and improper functions, such as firefighting.
Privatization is the process of turning a former governmental organization into an independent organization, that is, one whose new owners can decide for themselves what to do with the organization and its assets.
A second essential characteristic of a privatized organization is that all of its revenue comes from the free market, either sales or donations.
The story shows that there is no privatization going on, just low-budget statism without relinquishing control, so far.
Hi Burgess,
I generally agree with your comment and was thinking that I was being a bit sloppy/lazy with my post when I posted it.
But my thought is that there is now a de facto if not de jure pressure to replace government services with private ones. E.g. if buses don't run at night there's an opening for private taxis, shuttles, etc. Of if a government community center shuts down, then there's opportunity for a private enterprise to take its place. Of if parks fall into disuse, there may be pressure to sell them off or license them out.
As I said from the outset, it's not a principled change, but it's still a situation that might buy us time and save some of our resources from being wasted by the government. So it's a bit of good news worth noting.
Post a Comment
<< Home