[marriedWpt]

Your surprise that this happens under democracy- does that change your political views?

It doesn't change mine. The government is notorious for being corrupt and inefficient.

I hear this and it makes me horrified of the thought of government takeover of a sector.

[baroomba]

I'm not sure the government failing, for whatever reason, to hold private organizations and individuals to account for their wrongdoing is quite a clear, blanket argument against government power, in favor of the power of private organizations and individuals.

[nickthemagicman]

Oh come on you mean to tell me that private industries aren't full of nepotism, bribery, corruption, and incompetence?

Thalidomide, 737 max, Enron...

Meanwhile tons of public sectors run silently but smoothly and are taken for granted.

Your argument to demonize the public sector is ill considered, cliched, simple minded, and one sided.

[gameswithgo]

>The government is notorious for being corrupt and inefficient

So is the private sector. Excellence is rare. Such is life, welcome to earth.

[marriedWpt]

The private sector goes out of business. The government lives until it collapses.

[siv-]

> lives until it collapses.

Usually due to government intervention.

Corrupt and bloated businesses also "live until they collapse". I trust in democracy more than markets.

[OnlineGladiator]

> I trust in democracy more than markets.

I don't. People vote against their best interests all the time. The SF housing market is self-inflicted from people voting against new housing, because many of them don't understand the concept of supply and demand.

Neither markets nor democracy are perfect, but at least free markets are efficient.

[yellowapple]

> many of them don't understand the concept of supply and demand.

Or they understand supply and demand perfectly well, and figured out that if they legislatively block new development, fixed supply + growing demand = rising home prices = better investment.

[krapp]

>Neither markets nor democracy are perfect, but at least free markets are efficient.

Markets (free and otherwise) work against people's best interests all the time as well, in which case their efficiency is not a virtue.

[mrguyorama]

>but at least free markets are efficient.

Big ol' citation needed there

[booboolayla]

Maybe they understand that there's very little empty land to build housing on.

[harry8]

> I trust in democracy more than markets.

It seems strongly that former requires the latter. Without markets you have a totalitarian state. And black markets. Everyone everywhere wants and needs to trade, for themselves and their families.

The idea of genuine democracy is the loyal opposition. You dochange the government, regularly, without collapsing everything into anarchy.

Endemic corruption will lead to systemic collapse. This makes it worthwhile to vote the best corruption reform candidates regardless of ideology or party.

Democrats have voted Trump, Republicans support Bernie on that basis. It's not completely silly.

[JabavuAdams]

Nah, it really doesn't. Or at least that's much too weak a signal to actually provide a constraint on bad corporate actors.

[AndrewBissell]

When corporations implode these days, shareholders get the shaft while the executives responsible parachute out with 10s of millions of dollars.

[Lambdanaut]

I don't think it's as black-and-white as government bad private sector good.

People do bad things and we've been trying to fix our selves for a long time now.

We need to take personal responsibility for our own actions, and be honest and transparent, ready to accept the repercussions for what we have done. I'm speaking directly to individuals involved here, but I'm also speaking for and to all of us.

It's scary to come out about how fucked up we are, but it's how to heal.

We need to stand up and openly repent when we have done wrong. We need to stop defending and hiding our own evil.

[xtian]

Would love to hear your thoughts on privatizing the Department of Energy.