[const_cast]

Okay. But this isn't an argument.

They're already acting as a public good - so why can't we just make them a public good? That's not a rhetorical question.

We're already paying taxes for this public good. So why can't we pay actual taxes for this public good? Again, not rhetorical.

> Get the government to draw boundaries of what’s ok or not and it’s less of a problem.

Yes, we can do this. But we have already done this. It's our common laws and the US constitution.

If we want free speech, we don't need to go out here and write a super special law to target Visa. If they were just part of the public sector that would already apply to them - no new laws required.

You can't just say something is a fairy-tale because you're ideologically opposed to it. We already run many, many public services and do it successfully. It's not a fairy-tale, it's real life and we've been doing it for hundreds of years. Yes, even in the US.

Not to mention, we'd get a lot of extra benefits for free. Don't want your payment history leaked? Great, now the police require a search warrant to invade your privacy. Don't want to be debanked? Great, now we have more stringent discrimination protections. Want to pay less? Great, we don't have to turn a profit anymore.

[infecto]

You write a lot but you still have not gotten over the fact that what your solution is not a solution because there is simply no way for it to happen. Glad it sounds good in your head though.

And to be clear, no the US and Australia have not done a good job of drawing a clear line here. You must be new to the space, this has constantly been an issue for the Adult industry there are very few banks that will underwrite Adult content and there are blurred lines. From the perspective of Visa or Mastercard the risk from the public or the government is too great so they have to police it. It’s unfortunate but it’s also been a constant theme for at least two decades.

[const_cast]

> You write a lot but you still have not gotten over the fact that what your solution is not a solution because there is simply no way for it to happen.

Okay but why isn't it possible? You can't just say thing and then pretend they're true.

You've had like 3 comments now to explain why you think it isn't possible and you've decided not to, presumably because you can't.

I think it's possible. We've done it before. I've already explained the benefits.

Okay, so what now? I have an argument, you don't. Feel free to provide one, or don't, I don't really care because I'm starting to think you're not acting in good faith.

[infecto]

You’re asking why it’s not possible like it’s some big mystery, but it’s not ideology. It’s basic political and economic reality. You’re proposing nationalizing a private financial network in a country that can’t even pass basic data privacy laws or agree on net neutrality.

Visa and Mastercard aren’t some low-friction government acquisition target. They’re entrenched public companies with deep lobbying arms, international dependencies, and systemic importance. This isn’t turning the post office into USPS. It’s unpicking decades of privatized infrastructure and assuming the government can suddenly become a nimble tech operator. That’s the fairy tale.

And yes, laws exist, but enforcement is uneven, regulators are captured, and the ambiguity around “obscenity,” “adult,” and “high-risk” content is exactly why these companies over-police. You keep asserting benefits of a public solution as if that’s evidence it could happen. It’s not. It just shows you’re imagining a world that doesn’t resemble the one we live in.

You’re free to dream. I’m just pointing out the bridge you’re missing between vision and implementation.