Deconstruction

One of my longtime friends posted this.

Let's take a look at this line by line. Some of this may not apply to you.

Electricity: Yes, it is a monopoly regulated by the feds, state and local. This same monopoly prohibits people from generating their own power in far too many places. http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-no-solar-20140810-story.html.

Water: Flint, MI., comes to mind. There's lots more. As a reporter, I've covered plenty of municipalties with water problems. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/09/us/regulatory-gaps-leave-unsafe-lead-levels-in-water-nationwide.html

TV: Federal Communications Commission regulation of free speech, which is the First Amendment. George's list greatly expanded from his original seven but here ya go: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyBH5oNQOS0

Satellites: Well, yeah, government did a lot here. But this too is shifting. http://www.sia.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Mktg15-SSIR-2015-FINAL-Compressed.pdf

USDA & Food Inspection: <snort> http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/meat/evaluating/supremebeef.html. Ok, argue that the fed agencies responsible for food inspection are blocked by the courts. The court system is an arm of the government. http://foodsafety.news21.com/2011/safety/inspection/. Spend some time with "food inspectors" and reach your own conclusions.

FDA: FDA approves bad drugs. http://prescriptiondrugs.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=005528. FDA blocks life-saving drugs. http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/PublicHealthFocus/ucm421168.htm. http://www.lifeextension.com/magazine/2010/11/FDA-Delay-of-One-Drug-Causes-Lost-Life-Years/Page-01 Most new drugs are developed by private industry. http://csdd.tufts.edu/files/uploads/PubPrivPaper2015.pdf

Time: Time is regulated by Congress. Amazing! Astounding! Can we get Congress to regulate gravity next?

Highway Safety Admin: Well yeah. If you want to sell a car in the US you must meet the federal regulations. Help yourself to the regs. http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/import/FMVSS/. While we're on this subject, ever heard of Right to Repair? The same gummint that lays all the regs on car makers also prohibits you from doing some work on your car. http://ifixit.org/right.

Road building: Dunno about you, but around here the roads are built by private companies. http://www.dot.ga.gov/PS/Business/Contractors. Yeah, tax dollars pay for it, the work is still done by private companies. In my county if a developer puts in a road, it must be brought to DOT paving standards before it can be deeded to the county or one of the cities.

Government regulated fuel: http://www.fuel-testers.com/list_e10_engine_damage.html http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/hybrid-electric/a6244/e15-gasoline-damage-engine/

Money: http://www.investopedia.com/terms/l/legal-tender.asp. "There is, however, no Federal statute mandating that a private business, a person or an organization must accept currency or coins as for payment for goods and/or services." https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/faqs/Currency/Pages/legal-tender.aspx. Bitcoin anyone?

USPS: Talk to the National Newspaper Association about the Post Office. Talk to the Mayor of Sycamore about the Post Office. http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-mh-postal-service-s-problems-20151001-column.html. The PO pays $1,856  a month for a building in my county that would rent for $400 a month on the open market. https://about.usps.com/who-we-are/foia/leased-facilities/report.htm

Public schools: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/07/public-money-private-school_n_3721250.html. http://www.southerneducation.org/Our-Strategies/Research-and-Publications/Publications/Georgia%E2%80%99s-Tax-Dollars-Help-Finance-Private-Schools.aspx. http://oklahomawatch.org/2016/04/17/a-small-but-growing-diversion-of-public-funds-to-private-schools/

Building codes: This includes flood maps. S. Carolina, some years back, lowered the flood zone on the Augusta River to allow home construction on the river's banks. A state legislature took a vote and lowered the flood zone. http://www.coastalreview.org/2016/08/15920/.  Enforcement is also an issue: http://www.eesi.org/papers/view/the-value-and-impact-of-building-codes. I can provide only anecdotal information from four states on the rampant corruption in building inspections. And some newspaper stories. My opinion is corruption and sheer lack of enforcement is worse in building codes than anything else. Was not aware fire marshals had to inspect a home. New one on me.

Burglaries: https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2010/crime-in-the-u.s.-2010/property-crime/burglarymain?utm_campaign=buffer&utm_content=buffer517d4&utm_medium=social&utm_source=plus.google.com. https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-best-deterrents-to-potential-burglars. As the survivor of an assassination attempt I tell you LEO advised me to get a gun and a dog.

Internet: Yep. http://www.history.com/news/ask-history/who-invented-the-internet

Overall efficiency: Government can be efficient, when it has to compete. http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/03/when-government-competes-against-the-private-sector-everybody-wins/387460/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/jwebb/2015/11/30/dont-just-blame-the-government-private-companies-also-struggle-with-it-technologies/#160bca001ebd. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/reese-schonfeld/is-the-private-sector-mor_b_2839566.html. Annnnnd https://hbr.org/1991/11/does-privatization-serve-the-public-interest