Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[Kapture1]

I don't care who you are, Mattis is a BAMFer


[ame]https://twitter.com/MarcusReports/status/949371933640089603[/ame]

[Da Geezer]

It's for the same reason that Adam Smith had -- there are some things you can't leave to market forces, and are better off provided by the state. But Americans as a group haven't thought very hard about this. Canadians aren't much better.

That is not what Smith said or implied. But most believers in capitalism, like myself, understand that there are things (goods) held in "common". National defense is one such common good. The air we breathe, wild animals, waterways, the list goes on.

Garbage collection is not on that list. These are public sector workers. Public sector unionism is the single biggest problem facing America (as I've said many times before). We should go back to FDR's view that no one can negotiate against himself, and when public sector unions sit across from the politicians they elected to come to a "deal", the common good is not served.

There are only two solutions to this problem. Either ban public sector unions or don't allow those in public sector unions to vote.

And as someone who pays workman's comp for loggers, I'll point out that logging is the second most dangerous occupation. Offshore well drilling employees have a higher rate.

HUG A LOGGER, YOU'LL NEVER GO BACK TO TREES.

[crashcourse]

15 million americans have their identity stolen every year

but we don't have to worry about it in the voting booth right DSL?

[Wild Hoss]

Not according to Donald Trump.

So, probably.

[Kapture1]

[Jeff Buchanan]

That is not what Smith said or implied. But most believers in capitalism, like myself, understand that there are things (goods) held in "common". National defense is one such common good. The air we breathe, wild animals, waterways, the list goes on.

How far that list "goes on" is really important in this discussion, Geeze. Please list what else beyond those you mention.

Garbage collection is not on that list. These are public sector workers. Public sector unionism is the single biggest problem facing America (as I've said many times before).

You're talking "things" held as being in the common good (e.g., defense) and conflating them with "workers (e.g., public sector workers doing garbage collection). Is garbage collection a "thing" held as being in the common good? I think it is along with providing, for example, electricity, means of transportation (e.g, roads, rail, waterways), communication means ...... and then we get into the need for regulation also something that would be considered as being held in the common good.

There are only two solutions to this problem. Either ban public sector unions or don't allow those in public sector unions to vote.

Look, I get where you're going with all this and, for the most part, I agree with you that there needs to be limits to what the "guvment" should be doing.

There are more solutions to the question of what should be a public or a private undertaking/responsibility than (shifting gears to workers) banning public sector unions. Let's get back to the question I just posed. Is it a public or a private sector responsibility to provide "things" as you call them.

Aside from the problem I have with what you mean by "things", I think there is ample evidence of providing these "things", if I understand you correctly, by joint private/public endeavors.

[hack]

That's what Smith said. Geezer is wrong. Again.

[iam416]

I prefer private consumption based garbage collection. We’re moving to a flat fee carrier. I’m nonplussed.

[hack]

Whether or not he said it, one can still add this to a growing list of examples that show the private sector is not, by definition, more efficient. That can and is true on a case-by-case basis.

[froot loops]

Back in Smith's day garbage collection was one of the first established common public goods. It was necessary for the Industrial Age to progress. Read up.

[hack]

Public services are public services; generating profits is generating profits. You court risks far beyond "efficiency" losses when you fuse the two. Sometimes it's the right thing to do, but we've been doing it long enough to collect plenty of evident that the theories about the benefits of the private sector are just theories, and not reality.

[Da Geezer]

Wow, the start of a serious discussion.

At first glance, the commons are

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commons

And then there is the environmental movement's "tragedy of the commons"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_commons

Unlike anarchists and total libertarians, I believe there are certain things which are held in common by society.

For example, I live on Lake Michigan. In about 1968 there was a tremendous die-off of alewife, which corrupted the beaches These alewife were the fundamental feeder fish for the Lake Trout. The State of MI introduced Coho salmon to the Big Lake, and later Chinook salmon, both of which fed on the alewife. To me, that is a proper function of government, protecting the fishery, which a common property. But keep in mind, this reaction to the alewife, introduced by the ocean-going ships of the St. Lawrence Seaway that killed the Lake Trout, was a problem created by government.

I believe it would have better for the St. Lawrence Seaway to have never been created. Here was an example of government action designed to increase trade which basically destroyed the Great Lake's fishery.

Please give me other question about the commons. As a general rule, national defense and protection of the rule of law are the two proper functions of government. These functions protect life, liberty and property, which inure benefit to all of society.

[Dr. Strangelove]

The FBI has concluded Andrew McCabe had no conflict of interest when overseeing the Clinton email probe.

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/367701-fbi-ruled-mccabe-had-no-conflict-of-interest-in-clinton-probe

[WingsFan]

Forbes

President Trump to attend national title game between Alabama and Georgia

The Politics of the Apolitical Saban: If Alabama wins, will President Trump reach out immediately for face time or tweet time with the person that is arguably quite popular among voters in the state? Saban is looking to win his fifth national title in nine seasons. He was widely reported as receiving as much as two percent of write-in votes in the recent Moore-Jones Senate election in the state of Alabama.[3] If there is the Presidential push for shared face or social media time, I must believe Coach Saban would rather get another accidental sideline hit from own quarterback (as he did in the Clemson semifinal game) than to engage with the President. Saban would of course be happy with the win, remain cordial and professional. But some will look to see if he crosses the professional line to a personal endorsement. Since humans often color their perceptions with their own sentiments that is a game that Saban and his team will try to ignore.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Also, Mike Rogers, head of the NSA (not the Michigan Mike Rogers), is retiring this spring.