Airf0rce t1_ix5ah1x wrote on November 20, 2022 at 9:22 PM

Reply to comment by WhatUp007 in European Union strikes €6bn deal to develop own broadband satellite network by Sorin61

If last couple of years have shown anything, it's that basic utilities (which internet is at this point) should've never been privatized to begin with. So this isn't really about Musk, but about the entire private sector.

6 billion might sound like a lot of money, but this is money & know how that will largely stay Europe, with EU maintaining control over it, instead of relying at whatever bait & switch scheme Musk and the likes come up with.

Not to mention stuff like this also has military/defense purpose, and leaving that in someone else's hands is a bad idea if you want to rely on it.

DryYogurtcloset492 t1_ix7z4ud wrote on November 21, 2022 at 1:20 PM

Things become “basic utilities” when the government declares it so. This is when they arbitrarily decide it’s more beneficial for them to get involved. Privatization means competition which means higher quality service at lower price.

Government deals like this one will very likely be carried out by private contracting deals (as most “public utility” services are). All they’re doing is blocking out competition for the service by nestling up to government and letting the government rather than its own citizens decide what’s best for them.

Real-Patriotism t1_ixa4vjh wrote on November 21, 2022 at 10:22 PM

Ah yes. Because private healthcare is going so swell for us right now, and is totally not greedy businessmen leeching off us citizens as much as human possible as they mark up insulin 1000%.

Municipal Internet is a wonderful counterexample to this 'tread harder daddy' ultra-capitalist bootlicking.

DryYogurtcloset492 t1_ixcbr6p wrote on November 22, 2022 at 11:13 AM

We are far from truly privatized healthcare. It’s not expensive because we have privatization but the opposite. The creation of Medicare increased healthcare costs 60% right off the bat when implemented.

Regulations mean it takes on average 10 years and $1b to bring a new drug to market.

All of the backdoor regulations with patents and inflated prices due to insurance issues are also to blame.

The irony of much of peoples criticism with capitalism is that it’s not free market capitalism to begin with. If we look at the vast majority of the issues people have with our current systems, we find that they’re almost exclusively socialized programs.

In a free market system, greed benefits society. If I want to get rich, I have to create something that benefits a lot of people and convince them to voluntarily give me their money in exchange for this benefit.

In a socialized system, I create laws that force them to give me their money whether they like my offering or not.

Real-Patriotism t1_ixdfhrw wrote on November 22, 2022 at 4:43 PM

What absolute tripe. I was a Libertarian once too. The real world set me straight.

The regulations you speak of - are to ensure the drug is safe and doesn't kill people or have insane side effects. This is to prevent companies from cutting corners that kill people and do harm. This is a good thing.

Even with all the regulations and cost additions, [Pharmaceuticals still sell their drugs for 500%+ markups.](https://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/pricing-and-market-access/precise-magnitude-hospital-markups-us/#:~:text=The%20data%20analysis%20indicates%20that,to%20633.6%25%20(leuprolide).

Why? Because they can.

Because sick people cannot shop for market competitive rates, because cancer patients cannot be expected to haggle with their doctors while they're dying.

This is common sense shit. You remove the single guardrail consumers have to protect their interests, their choice, and all you have left is increasingly unfettered greed.

#There are some things that we as a Civilized People should not seek to subject to the profit motive. Human Suffering is among them.

In a free market system, avarice is unleashed and is increasingly what is ailing our society as everything is commoditized as we worship the one true God, the American Dollar.

All instead of helping, protecting, and uplifting the American People. You know, all the things that secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.