We all pee and poop. Every. Single. Human.
There is no place for “business”.
It’s the literal definition of a public good and such the role of the government.
There is no place for “business”.
It’s the literal definition of a public good and such the role of the government.
Examples include clean air, national defense, and public parks.
This isn't to say they shouldn't be provided by the government, but they're definitely not a public good
EBT is a pretty good program. Government grocery stores would almost certainly be an abomination (just ask your local public school cafeteria or military base mess hall).
Edit: adgjlsfhk1 is correct that “generally terrible” is overstated and simplistic. Hopefully better take downthread.
Military bases run PXs and commissaries and these stores have reasonable (mid to high mid) quality goods.
The PXs are pretty good but are priced comparably or higher than free-market stores off-base, and even still are subsidized by base funds. The Class Six is very well done and potentially profitable, though that's just a guess.
The commissaries are much more expensive than off-base stores and likewise are subsidized by base funds. For the most part only the officer's and senior NCO's families can afford to shop at the Commissary.
Disclaimer: I left active duty in the late 00s so things might have changed since then
It’s not that governments literally cannot provide good services — it’s that when government appoints itself as a monopolist, outcomes and accountability become effectively disconnected, unless the service is so high-stakes and the quality is so abysmal that it rises to “vote the bastards out” territory.
It largely comes down to who is running the thing, and do they care? With private sector, they are forced to care because otherwise it will affect revenue and brand value, which will get the leader fired. The consumer is empowered with ability to spend their $ elsewhere, which rewards the better service and punishes the worse (note that this is becoming much less true in the age of giant corps, especially big tech). With government services, (particularly in monopolistic situations like the DMV), the consumer is largely powerless. They have no choice but to use the system given, and if they aren't happy they can complain but that complaint won't have any teeth (unless they happen to be politically connected of course).
tldr: I most agree, but it depends on how you define "bad"
They are only as good as the people in a jurisdiction let them be. Also, the governments you have experienced are far from generally representative.
I don't really understand why it should be illegal to pay someone for a vital human need
Second order effects? Please. Those aren’t on the ballot, and are hard to stuff into a sound bite.
Voting against pay toilets makes you a foolish and counterproductive person that thinks you're a good person.
I would honestly pay for rent a potty even if public toilets were (and they should be!) available and convenient.
If you’re looking for a role for government here, I could see budgeting in some tax breaks for local businesses that make their restrooms publicly accessible. The infrastructure is already there, no need for a complicated business model.
People significantly underestimate the cost of maintaining clean public restrooms in urban areas.
When restrooms are used properly, maintenance costs are reasonable and predictable. But that is not what happens.
Restrooms contain private areas, and that reality invites other uses, like drug use, prostitution, and sleeping. And those uses come at a steep cost.
Separately, in my experience, many businesses do make their restrooms available to people who look presentable and who ask politely. They just don’t advertise it, and they may even advertise the opposite.