[none_to_remain]

So you latch on to the outsourced part and complain about capitalism, or we could latch on to the government-funded part and complain about socialism.

I think more than capitalism v. socialism here the problem is that we are governed by filth who are looting public treasuries for themselves and their buddies.

[lr4444lr]

That's not how I read his comment at all: if the government grants are not doled out with oversight, it's entirely rational for greedy actors to minimize the dollars ultimately reaching the intended targets.

[prottog]

> we are governed by filth who are looting public treasuries for themselves and their buddies.

Hence the conservative ideal of smaller government with limited powers, so that there is both less to loot from as well as a lesser ability for those in power to direct those treasures to themselves.

[HarryHirsch]

And then it's put into practice and it looks like Alabama, they are running the natural experiment in Alabama since 1901, the 1901 constitution and its impacts on the state are well-known.

To get any kind of local tax raised, the local authority has to go through the oligarch-controlled legislature in Montgomery, where it would be shot down. And like that you end up with county roads on a 70-year replacement schedule.

[ModernMech]

I'm focusing on the bad actors, who are the ones extracting all of the money from the system as profit. That's what makes this dysfunctional. If they were gone, the people trying to help would have more resources. Notably, these people hold titles associated with the artifices of capitalism. The social worker doesn't need a board of directors. She knows what needs to be done. It's the board of directors who need the social worker -- not to fix anything, but to do the appearance of work while they collect rent checks from the government. It's disgusting.

We can imagine this enterprise organized another way which actually helps people. Fewer Ferrari dealerships would make sales, but that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make.