guimontag t1_ixcrcjg wrote
Reply to comment by aclockworkporridge in Why can't Cambridge manufacture their own insulin for its residents with Type I diabetes? California is going to manufacture its own insulin. by [deleted]
At this point shouldn't OP be asking why the state isn't doing it then??
aclockworkporridge t1_ixd56yp wrote
Which honestly I would say is a fantastic question, but I'm a firm believer in state-funded competition in privatized markets.
If a government can do it better and cheaper than capitalism, then it should become a public service.
Ancient_Boner_Forest t1_ixdizzm wrote
> If a government can do it better and cheaper than capitalism
Genuinely curious but what are some examples of this?
(Besides healthcare in the US)
[deleted] OP t1_ixejgh4 wrote
[deleted]
Ancient_Boner_Forest t1_ixeoeet wrote
I’m asking for examples where government does it better than a competing private business.
Also not all of this is even government owned. The us power grid for example is not
aclockworkporridge t1_ixey408 wrote
Those are examples of things that were at one time private and have been nationalized for the most part. Aspects are still contracted out, and like you said, grids are privately owned, but much of the work to get rural areas electrified was federally managed.
[deleted] OP t1_ixf2dix wrote
[deleted]
SlamwellBTP t1_ixeopaz wrote
The postal service
Ancient_Boner_Forest t1_ixeox8c wrote
By what metric are they doing a better job than ups or fedex?
bayfyre t1_ixetjew wrote
By the metric of total number of deliveries and widest distribution network. USPS must deliver to everyone, not just profitable locations like FedEx and UPS
Ancient_Boner_Forest t1_ixewnq8 wrote
Total number of deliveries seems like a bad metric consider the vast majority of mail received by people is junk mail that no one wants to begin with.
You may have a point regarding distribution network, I don’t know enough about that.
It would seem it’s not cheaper though. I guess I should have clarified that that was most of what I was curious about.
aclockworkporridge t1_ixexxc1 wrote
I also think it's good to note that the Postal service keeps private services from price gouging. Even if it doesn't turn a profit, if forced the leading corporations to compete against a third actor, which prevents them from colluding.
Ancient_Boner_Forest t1_ixf2m8l wrote
Why do you think that fedex and ups would be engaging in illegal price fixing schemes if it were not for the USPS?
Most companies don’t have a government competitor and these sorts of activities are rare and result in serious penalties.
aclockworkporridge t1_ixfv7rz wrote
These activities are absolutely not rare. They are rarely prosecuted, but they are absolutely not rare. Fuel is a great example, both on a global level and a local one. Every year some local consortium of gas stations gets nailed for price fixing, and almost every industry has a landmark price fixing case that occurred in the last 20 years.
Internet is the current hot button topic in that regard, especially in Cambridge. A duopoly can be just as bad as a monopoly, because all it takes is an off the record game of golf and you've created massive profits with no risk of anti-trust or monopoly crackdown.
Ancient_Boner_Forest t1_ixg3c9b wrote
Do you have a source, like an article, discussing the high prevalence of price fixing?
aclockworkporridge t1_ixh46ci wrote
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wine_and_Spirits_Fair_Dealing_Act
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/DRAM_price_fixing_scandal
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysine_price-fixing_conspiracy
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/wbna20388297
https://www.reuters.com/article/ctech-us-memorycards-pricefixing-lawsuit-idCABREA4D0MI20140514
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/wbna41926712
~Everywhere you look, everywhere you look~
WikiSummarizerBot t1_ixh47n1 wrote
Wine and Spirits Fair Dealing Act
>The Wine and Spirits Fair Dealing Act, also known as the Wirtz Law, was an infamous Illinois state law passed in 1999 that prevented distillers and wineries from changing distributors without "just cause". Distributors stated that the law was required to prevent producers from severing ties with Illinois distributors and "outsourcing" their deals, ostensibly resulting in thousands of job losses throughout the state. After the law was passed, all Illinois distributors raised their prices. The Federal Trade Commission actively lobbied against the law, to no avail.
>In 2002, the United States Department of Justice, under the Sherman Antitrust Act, began a probe into the activities of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) manufacturers in response to claims by US computer makers, including Dell and Gateway, that inflated DRAM pricing was causing lost profits and hindering their effectiveness in the marketplace. To date, five manufacturers have pleaded guilty to their involvement in an international price-fixing conspiracy between July 1, 1998, and June 15, 2002, including Hynix, Infineon, Micron Technology, Samsung, and Elpida.
Lysine price-fixing conspiracy
>The lysine price-fixing conspiracy was an organized effort during the mid-1990s to raise the price of the animal feed additive lysine. It involved five companies that had commercialized high-tech fermentation technologies, including American company Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Japanese companies Ajinomoto and Kyowa Hakko Kogyo, and Korean companies Sewon America Inc. and Cheil Jedang Ltd. A criminal investigation resulted in fines and three-year prison sentences for three executives of ADM who colluded with the other companies to fix prices.
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SlamwellBTP t1_ixewebd wrote
They deliver a lot more packages to a lot more people and do it cheaper. Their main financial woes stem from Congress requiring them to pre-fund retirement in a way no company does and could be fixed easily.
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