I don't agree that capitalism can only invest in things with an immediate return. There may be more of a focus on short term results these days, but plenty of companies still have huge long term R&D budgets. When it actually makes economic sense, they shift those budgets. They don't shift because a bunch of morons with a big voice persuade a bunch of brain dead politicians and media types that it makes sense.
Plus, these days, there are some very wealthy individuals involved in projects that were typically located in government that are getting great results privately.
I would agree that some things that might yield positive results for society are missing from private R&D and can come out of government. I would simply argue that the money spent by government that yielded those things wouldn't evaporate if it wasn't spent by government. It would instead be invested elsewhere and yield other positive things that we will never know about because it was spent by government.
Personally, I'd bet that a handful of brilliant businessmen would get better value for society with those same dollars than government even if they are in other areas and not reflective of your or my personal values.
Things like roads and bridges are somewhat unique and probably have to be coordinated at various high levels of government, but they are still a mess because of government.
I'll give you one example.
Many years ago NYC built a subway system. On the surface, it was a great "idea" to be able to move people on mass transit, reduce traffic, and reduce pollution etc... The problem was that it turned out to be an economic disaster. So rather that admitting it sucked, charging appropriate prices, filling it all in, or doing something somewhat sensible, the government took it over. As a result, it's very existence continued to encourage the growth of jobs and population in a more concentrated area instead of encouraging moves and growth to a more diverse area.
So it became and remains a massive economic drain (not to mention its other failures...and it's actually a little better these day than at its worst). The surrounding bridges have been paid for a zillion times over by tolls that were originally imposed to finance them. The current tolls should probably be small and just support bridge maintenance. Instead the tolls are huge and rising and support an economically brain dead subway system that is now totally essential because we didn't bite the bullet and fill it in decades ago when it was recognized as an economic failure.
What I am suggesting is that some of the things related to infrastructure that now seem essential are only essential because government took a path that allowed things to develop in ways that make them essential now. We don't know how things would have been solved or developed if those idiots never got involved.
Anyway, I know you don't agree with some or most of this, but you'll never convince me that government can do a better job at just about anything. Most of the time, even when people identify a private sector failure, there's usually a government intervention involved somewhere or a specific private group that is using large and growing government to rape and pillage the rest of us with laws or institutions that benefit them.
|
