It's a Flawless Plan for Making Money
(Posted by adam)
First, you take a business away from legitimate enterprises, claiming only the state can run it without it sinking into a wretched hive of scum and villany. Then, you ban competition. Then, you decide that you're better off selling the monopoly rights to the highest bidder.
It's what Illinois is doing with their state lottery.
I was going to talk about the history of corporations as monopolies, and the issues with government run business, but Larry Ribstein said almost everything I wanted to say in "Selling State Lotteries."
Maybe the state could do the same with health care?
Image credit: Emergent Chaos.
Bookmark this post: Posted by adam on January 26, 2007 at 11:22 AM
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Comments
What legitimate enterprises ran numbers games? Serious question.
Posted by: Chris | January 26, 2007 11:50 AM
Churches and casinos operated gambling of various forms.
Posted by: Adam | January 26, 2007 11:54 AM
At least if Illinois did this with Health Care there might be a net benefit to the average citizens.
Posted by: Alexandre Carmel-Veilleux | January 26, 2007 12:33 PM
I was going to say, there's a categorical difference. Health insurance becomes more efficient the more people you put in the pool, because you spread the risk.
There are things government really can do better. Hardly anyone would argue for privatizing fire departments or the military, for example. I tend to think health care is in this category. Gambling probably isn't.
Posted by: Orv | January 26, 2007 1:29 PM
I thought you were going there on "FCC", until I got to the part about state lottery.
Posted by: Ryan Russell | January 26, 2007 5:11 PM
I thought you were going there on "FCC", until I got to the part about state lottery.
Posted by: Ryan Russell | January 26, 2007 9:29 PM
Wow, two posts in a row referencing C-U bloggers.
Posted by: Nikita | January 26, 2007 10:29 PM
C-U?
Posted by: Adam | January 26, 2007 10:32 PM
The lottery is a lousy example to use for this. "Private lotteries" run by churches and such are not illegal. I get hit up to buy raffle tickets to support the St. Alfonso Pancake Breakfast or somesuch all the time, and churches still run bingo games as far as I can tell. Casino gambling is indeed licensed, but it is not monopolized by the state. What the state has monopolized is "the numbers racket", which was not (with the small-time exceptions noted above) run by legitimate organizations.
Don't get me started on privatizing toll collection, though. :^)
Posted by: Chris | January 28, 2007 12:50 PM
I am told fire departments are widely privatised in the US. Military privatisation is widely practiced in Iraq .. whether that is a good thing or a bad thing is a bit debatable, but I'd argue that we would have to be careful to strip factors such as a mission that was KIA before arrival.
Posted by: Iang | January 28, 2007 2:36 PM
"wretched hive of scum and villany"
This is the most subtle Friday Star Wars reference yet! Bravo!
Posted by: Mr. X | January 28, 2007 6:11 PM
I never heard of private Fire Departments. Many (especially in small communities) are staffed by volunteers, though.
Posted by: Chris | January 31, 2007 3:02 PM