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Comment by Workaccount2 | Hacker News Reader

I think the idea is in good spirit, but it's important to be aware that gov backed services often run at a loss indefinitely. It's impossible to compete with a business that doesn't need to make money to exist. So you end up with just the government service.

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I see why you have this assumption, yet we have 20+ years of data proving that a private bureau can actually compete, flourish and innovate while serving majority of the reports while gov-run bureau ensures that prices stay manageable.

In many areas, the notion of government services operating at a loss doesn't make sense - police, fire department, armed forces, libraries, parks, etc.

None of those are links in a chain of private markets. They are their own government monopoly markets.

If the government is going to become the defacto credit rating agency, they might as well be the defacto lender. Obviously loan rejections and low scores will be unpopular and an easy lever to push on for more votes, so just ditch the credit ratings all together and have a government lender that lends taxpayer money for all loans at a flat-rate.

Which basically has happened already - student loans - and we all know what a rosey picture that is.

That is incorrect, those are not government monopolies, those spaces have private options.

FedEx, DHL, UPS and government USPS

Parks - there’s a ton of types with equivalent public and private versions

Police - private security

Firefighters - there are private fire fighters who protect houses threatened by wildfire - they just don’t need to respond when it comes to responding to stuff like traffic accidents and health incidents

Etc etc

I mean, you can edge case away any argument. My neighbor uses solar and batteries so I guess the power company isn't a monopoly?

That’s not comparable, that analogy is like saying I have a backyard so there’s no government monopoly on parks. It’s not like saying there’s a private tennis club and public tennis courts, or whatever other typical park amenities.

That flawed analogy is like saying I have a baton so police aren’t a monopoly on protection, when my analogy actually was private security companies.

Yeah that's why the only and best way to send packages here is the USPS.

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