ThunderPeel2001 Posted March 3, 2012 I polished my pens last night and now they are shiny!Also: I think I already read this article last week, except it was by Alan Moore and had more pictures. I've been predicting this for years. Here's a glimpse into the future: Rich people will be able to afford better police that poor people. I hate this government so much. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lu Posted March 3, 2012 This reminds me of Robocop, which was an awesome film, which makes this an awesome idea. Markets traditionally regarded as non-profit: hospitals, prisons, space exploration. I say good business is where you find it. Privatize everything. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
elmuerte Posted March 3, 2012 I hope they show off the ED209 at parliament first. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ThunderPeel2001 Posted March 3, 2012 This reminds me of Robocop, which was an awesome film, which makes this an awesome idea. Markets traditionally regarded as non-profit: hospitals, prisons, space exploration. I say good business is where you find it. Privatize everything. Yep, completely privatized healthcare in the US has led to it having the highest infant mortality rate in the first world.[Link] And because of their privatized prison system rich people can pay to go to nice prisons! (So provided you've got enough money, crime needn't be the risky venture it used to be ) Also, here in the UK, we have privately owned prisons, too. One of them, run by Group4, was mired in so much controversy that it was taken permanently into the public sector.[Link] Guess who's up for the government contracts to take over our police? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Scrobbs Posted March 3, 2012 It fucking stinks. Been invited to submit CV for 38 degrees... I mean to do my best Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Roderick Posted March 3, 2012 Why do governments still think that privatizing public services works? More importantly: how can they not see this as the tremendously awful idea that it is? Case in point: the Netherlands privatized the railway system some decade(s) ago. The result was a huge decrease in efficiency, poor communication between all the various parts of the company and the entire good image of public transportation down the drain. I hope they won't even touch the police or fire brigade. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lu Posted March 3, 2012 It's the same for our postal service and insurance. Weren't the both of those were like a golden standard for Europe? Then they were privatized. Now you have 3 different mail people coming by your door, all from different companies, delivering the same mail you've always been receiving. Efficient! COMPETITIVE. That and I'm reasonably sure that insurance is way more expensive now than it was before. Sources? Where we're going we don't need sources! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ThunderPeel2001 Posted March 3, 2012 (edited) Why do governments still think that privatizing public services works? Because they're representing the ultra-rich. Or rather the conservative ultra-rich. The ultra-rich don't like the fact that they pay such high taxes to provide services for people they don't care about (and usually have a disdain for -- "Why should these (lazy) people pay less taxes than me, and get things I'm paying for, for free!?"). If things are privatized then there's less need for government spending, and so taxes can (in theory) be lowered. Governments try and justify this to the masses with the theory that capitalism/the market "solves everything": By adding "competitive" forces, prices should be lower, and so the privatised versions should be cheaper for everybody. What happens though is this: Cheap ass companies make insanely low bids in order to get these "water tight" contracts from the government -- Water tight meaning that they're guaranteed public money for a set number of years, no matter what they do. They then go about trying to satisfy their contracts in the cheapest, half-assed, manner they possibly can, because they're money motivated -- like a normal company. They only care about making government targets for the cheapest way they can, in order to maximise their profits -- Unlike services run by governments which are motivated by results felt by the public, so that government can get voted back in. The quality of these services usually suffers massively, and is felt by those that rely on them the most (the poorest and neediest). The government's promise that market forces will lead to better quality services never seems to happen, probably because of the completely atypical way in which this particular "market" is run -- guaranteed contracts that sometimes last for decades, nothing like a normal market. Meanwhile the ultra-rich can afford their own private services, and so aren't affected by poor quality "public" services, and now their money is being spent on themselves and their loved ones, and not the unwashed masses. They can then donate to the charities of their choice, if they feel like it, but at least the government isn't taking it all. Then what frequently happens is that these privately own "public" services fail to make good on the promises they've made in such a big way, that the government is forced to step up and give them public money to help them out, anyway... just to try and save face. But the privatized companies only care about ticking boxes in the spreadsheet so they still get paid (e.g. "Our walk-in health centre serviced 500 per week for three months" -- no measurement of quality of service, because that's too vague). And so it goes around and around... All because the rich want to pay less taxes. A few scary things: The current economic crisis has allowed the conservatives (aka Republicans) to push all these changes past the public, because the public is buying into the fact that "something must be done". The fact that the conservative government is just pushing through all the things they tried to do in the 80s and 90s, and have always wanted to do, is being lost in the worry. In America, a lot of people have lost all trust in their government, and have more faith in companies... even though the public controls the government, and big companies are invariably run by people with no ethics whatsoever -- and the public has no control over them at all. As my conservative housemate put it: It's a company's job to make money by ANY means necessary, with no concern for ethics. It's the government's job to put laws in place to stop them from doing unethical things, and to protect the public. A pretty horrible point of view, but it shows how worrying it is when a nation starts to lose faith in their government! Edited March 4, 2012 by ThunderPeel2001 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nachimir Posted March 4, 2012 It's much worse than shortcomings of Conservative ideology. In response to concerns over the health bill, David Cameron called an emergency meeting, but only invited institutions that he thought would support it. They didn't, going off script and raising numerous concerns of their members. The Conservatives promised that any petition on epetitions that got over 100,000 signitures would lead to a debate in parliament. This one, with nearly 170K, is being ignored. Here is a list of members of the Conservative party that have vested interests in private healthcare companies. Oh, there's this too. What they're doing is fucking outrageous and obviously corrupt. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Orv Posted March 4, 2012 Well, I'm not dead. This, I'm told is a good thing. I'll even be back home considerably sooner than I expected. I spent most of my afternoon alternating between fairly casual games and onset narcolepsy. Still, could be doing worse off, and my back doesn't hurt for the first time in years. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lu Posted March 4, 2012 You know, you can't just post something like that and then not tell us what's up. Glad you're alive though and that is great news about your back!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Orv Posted March 4, 2012 Look uh, two or so pages back I think.' E: Woah, 9 pages. This thread moves. And now, more uncomfortable napping! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Roderick Posted March 4, 2012 Well, this was about the back thing, obviously. Glad it went well! And boo for stupid government not owning up to their job! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ben X Posted March 4, 2012 Markets traditionally regarded as non-profit: hospitals, prisons, space exploration. I say good business is where you find it. Nice quote, btw, Poo. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lu Posted March 4, 2012 Thanks. You should hear ArmchairGeneral's Dick Jones impression. It's pretty good. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thyroid Posted March 5, 2012 I told the girl I like how I felt and she said she likes me too. The word "love" may have been mentioned once or twice or maybe 20 times. :tup: I'm a happy skipper! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
subbes Posted March 5, 2012 Gosh. You don't hang around, do you? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lu Posted March 5, 2012 Look uh, two or so pages back I think.'E: Woah, 9 pages. This thread moves. And now, more uncomfortable napping! oh man, I completely missed that original post in my excitement of my recent couch purchase. Purcouchase, if you will. What will your recovery path be like the next couple o months? Seriously, I'm really glad to hear that it stopped hurting. And does that mean you have to sleep on your stomach and/or side? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Orv Posted March 5, 2012 oh man, I completely missed that original post in my excitement of my recent couch purchase. Purcouchase, if you will. What will your recovery path be like the next couple o months? Seriously, I'm really glad to hear that it stopped hurting. And does that mean you have to sleep on your stomach and/or side? I sleep either on my side/stomach normally, so it's not a huge issue for me. As for the next couple of months, it's mostly just easy living, don't get too worked up, and some physical therapy here and there, if I feel I need it. It won't be too bad, it'll just be rather dull knowing I could be out running but instead I get to sit around. It's not as though I haven't been able to walk for the past few years, I'll just have a greater range of motion back now. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thyroid Posted March 5, 2012 Gosh. You don't hang around, do you? My girlfriend and I broke-up six months ago. I've moved on. And who dares wins, and I'm nothing if not a risk-taker. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gwardinen Posted March 5, 2012 I told the girl I like how I felt and she said she likes me too. The word "love" may have been mentioned once or twice or maybe 20 times.:tup: I'm a happy skipper! Neat. Always nice to hear of things going well. Enjoy yourself and so forth! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ben X Posted March 5, 2012 oh man, I completely missed that original post in my excitement of my recent couch purchase. Purcouchase, if you will. Purchaise-longue. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nachimir Posted March 5, 2012 Congrats Kroms and Orvidos! I am currently doing something very scary and entirely independent. Early tests have gone well, but it could soak up a huge proportion of my remaining money, then fail. Eek. Basically, to make it not fail, I need to learn a huge amount about marketing, which is not something that comes naturally to me Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sal Limones Posted March 5, 2012 Congrats Kroms and Orvidos!I am currently doing something very scary and entirely independent. Early tests have gone well, but it could soak up a huge proportion of my remaining money, then fail. Eek. Basically, to make it not fail, I need to learn a huge amount about marketing, which is not something that comes naturally to me I can maybe help, I know a little about marketing. What are you looking to market, what's your target audience, etc? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
