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by anigbrowl 927 days ago
the state of Tennessee effectively has banned [still cat-and-mouse] other cities from implementing Chattanooga's beloved solution

It's bleakly hilarious that politicians of a certain stripe fall over themselves to pass laws against policies that deliver value to the public.

2 comments

Free market proponents don’t want the government competing with industry. It’s not that surprising
If the government can provide a better and cheaper service, what exactly is the problem? The free market will decide if the government's competition makes sense.
This is fine as long as:

- the government doesn’t use any tax revenue to do this nor impose any debt on the government

- the government doesn’t get any special privileges for access to lay fiber

Then it’s no different than a regular competitor. This is often not the case though and it makes it very difficult for anyone to compete.

> the government doesn’t use any tax revenue to do this nor impose any debt on the government

Where is the initial capital investment supposed to come from? And what is the purpose of collecting taxes other than to provide services to the citizens? What's different between garbage collection, water, power and internet?

The problem is ideological.
No it’s not, see my other reply.
>what exactly is the problem?

"Privatize profits

"Socialize losses"

—Reagan, probably.

Can I make a health insurance company that only insures healthy people?
Isn’t that what we essentially have? Private insurance only covers healthy people, adults healthy enough to work. The rest is punted to Medicare (old and sick) or Medicaid (poor, jiblessand young that are too sick)
Although I am still "healthy enough to work," having no dependents allows me to an optimal loner healthcare strategy: just don't apply/carry health insurance (tyl: 50% of US healthcare is paid for by government funded sources — just single-payer it [for all!] already!).

Instead I am a cash-paying blue-collar degenerate. It works for me because I am too damn stubborn to give even cents to the disgrace we Americants call "public healthcare" — and with no children/wife to support, I can be as wreckless as society damnwell chooses for me to behave.

"Acting rationally in an irrational environment IS IRRATIONAL."

Excluding pre-existing conditions sort of does that.
Can you make a health company that insures not only healthy people is a real question.
Not relevant