[ExI] Transhumanism and Politics

[Stathis Papaioannou]

On 27/01/2008, J. Andrew Rogers <andrew at ceruleansystems.com> wrote:

> The punch line is that when the private sector comes up with something
> that is clearly better than the "free" government version, the
> reaction of government is to create non-compete regulations and laws
> that prevent the private sector from intruding on their market or in
> some cases the market of a favored regulated monopoly.  I am having a
> really hard time of thinking of a time when this has worked out well
> for the consumer.
>
> The reaction of the government to the obsolescence of one of their
> services by action of the private market is not "Aw shucks, I guess we
> will just close shop" it is "You will not be allowed to compete with
> us, and we have the regulatory power and guns to ensure it".  It is
> like clockwork, and very predictable. Bureaucrats are as resistant to
> losing their cushy jobs as anyone else, but unlike everyone else they
> do not have to compete to keep them if they do not want to.

Well, I work in the Australian public health system, and it is
completely the opposite of what you are describing. Each hospital, and
each department within a hospital, will of course argue that they need
more money, more staff, more equipment but there is only so much to go
around and the Health Department's job is to squeeze maximum value out
of it. If a hospital underperforms or goes overbudget, pressure is
applied from above to rectify the situation. The ideal situation from
the Department's point of view is healthy and happy patients with
minimal expenditure on salaries, drugs or equipment. The main thing
that maintains staff pay and conditions is the threat that people will
leave for easier, better-paid jobs in the private system.





-- 
Stathis Papaioannou