:-) Those were fun videos. thank you!
-snip-
The reality is that governments are terrible at actually doing anything. There are numerous examples. In Canada, for example, look at the federal govt's attempts to transfer to a unified pay system. Or buying that pipeline in northern Alberta. Or purchasing military ships. Or building the long gun registry. I believe that we should only have the government do things that can't be done by the private sector. It's too expensive to have them doing anything else! Which things are actually done by the government is a much more difficult question to answer.
Well, Scotty - I live across the border. I'm afraid I'm not up to speed as to all the shenanigans the Provinces have done. I used to work for a guy from Fort Francis that had crossed the border and he expounded on what was happening up there, but that was long ago.
There are two things that come to mind:
1) The United Nations has said Canada is one of the best countries in the world to live in.
2) You give Health Care for your people. This is one of those things that can be provided by the private sector. In fact it is done this way over here. Is it better that millions go without treatment and would not if the government provided the care.
A third thing I've been thinking about is that for the past generation we've been exposed to propaganda that says government is bad. Old Reagan is famous for saying that, "In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem." Sorry, government is the people in a democracy. If working correctly, it is the mass of people solving mutual problems.
The recent video I saw pointed out that there are rich forces out there who control our media that tell us that government is the problem. I see roads, bridges, the US postal service, regulation that ensures we can trust the food we purchase, police, firemen, public libraries and public schools that tell me otherwise. I see many of those things as an investment in the future of a country. This is an investment that will not be made by private entities.
On the other hand, I don't want the government building cars or cell phones.
Will laissez faire economics be enough on it's own to do the best job of providing goods and services? I think government has a role and this may include dampening the business cycles. I hope to see more entries from the wise people on this site to set my ideas straight.
