> Call me a Thatcherite (I would be proud to wear that name, actually) but
> I think decentralization is almost always better when the needs of the
> public vary from place to place.
Hello, Andrew,
I do not think of myself as a Thatcherite, because I am socially very
liberal, but when it comes to economic issues I semi-agree with you.
The fact that decentralization and choice are usually better is exactly
why this country's insane subsidization of one method of transportation
over all others is so . . . insane. I would be perfectly happy if we
simply removed all subsidies from all transportation, and let the market
decide (hint: the car would not win if drivers had to pay, at the
point-of-use, the total real cost of the road space and maintenance each
driver actually utilized on any given trip, especially long trips).
Sure, if you privatized MUNI, somebody living in the far side of Twin
Peaks would not be first on the list of MUNI lines, but there should be
some incentive to live in the areas most efficiently served -- as there
is today: somebody living near Geary gets far more than their fair share
of MUNI service. Nonetheless, it would only work if you had some sort
of minimum service guarantee, similar to the telecommunications
"universal lifeline," perhaps paid for the same way.
And, to be fair, as long as drivers get access to their outrageously
expensive road space free, we bus and train riders should get the
equivalent. It is unfair to apply free market principles only to one
form of transportation.
-- Donald
_________________________
Donald F. Robertson
San Francisco
donaldrf@hooked.net
76217.2066@CompuServe.com
Donald's Space Exploration page:
http://www.hooked.net/~donaldrf/index.html
The known is finite, the unknown is infinite; intellectually
we stand on an islet in the midst of an illimitable ocean of
inexplicability. Our business in every generation is to
reclaim a little more land. -- Thomas Huxley.