From: johniac@austin.ibm.com (John Iacoletti/100000)
Newsgroups: alt.politics.elections,talk.politics.misc,tx.politics
Subject: Re: The end of the Reagan Era
Date: 16 Nov 92 17:05:23 GMT
Organization: IBM Advanced Workstations and Systems, Austin, TX
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL6]

fred j mccall 575-3539 (mccall@mksol.dseg.ti.com) wrote:
: And what happens if a couple of guys who live at the end of the block
: don't want to 'chip in'?

If we can't afford it without their support, then we don't build the road.  If
we can, and we think it's worth it, then we build it anyway and either charge
them toll (if it's worth enforcing), or we let them use it for free.

: Anyway, you must live in a very wealthy
: neighborhood, if people can afford to 'chip in' and will collect
: enough money to pave your whole street.

If people can't afford it, then they settle for a dirt road, or whatever they
can afford.  Does every neighborhood NEED a paved road?  I doubt it.

: Of course, then there's the problem of the next block, etc., all the
: way to where you work.  Will you let other people from outside your
: block drive on 'your' street?  If so, how will you collect from them
: for using it?

Again, if it is cost-effective to collect toll then you collect toll.  If it
isn't then you put up with the free-riders.  I would think that most
residential streets are only useful for the people who actually live on those
streets.

: Do the phrases 'startup costs' and 'initial investment' mean anything
: to you?  You can 'need to build a road' and yet not have sufficient
: traffic to justify THE INITIAL INVESTMENT (compared to other, faster
: return projects).

If you can't justify the INITIAL INVESTMENT, then you don't "need to build a
road".

: >The people who use the road can assume the cost.  
: 
: One more time.  Please describe for me A MECHANISM as to how that
: would work.

I have.  The people who want a road all get together and figure out how much
it costs, and if enough people agree that it's worth it, then they build a road.
If they expect enough traffic to justify enforcing a toll, then they set up
toll gates.

Some people sneak into movie theaters.  Does this mean that we should institute
a tax on all popcorn sales, and provide free-admission movie theaters to
everybody?  Or does it make more sense to put up with some free-riders as a cost
of doing business and only charge people who go to the movies?

: And what about businesses that can't afford 'their share', do not want
: to pay 'their share', since for the business down the road from them
: to get any benefit they will have to have a road to them, too, or
: which move in or out?  How do you propose that this would work?

You can not make their businesses accessible from your road.

: Well, 'whatever it costs' is a pretty loose answer.  How do you know
: whether your libertarian proposals are even feasible if you don't
: consider what they cost?

You want a figure in dollars and cents?  It depends on the market price at the
time of the materials, the labor, and the equipment.  It depends on whether you
hire contractors to to the work or if you do it yourself.  Every situation is
going to have a different answer.  I'm not sure what you're looking for here.

: Yes, answer them inadequately, so that you can then go and pick at the
: 'holes' that any inadequate answer has (by definition).  What's the
: point, other than debating trickery, John?

Why are you so defensive?  If what you're saying is valid, then you have nothing
to worry about.

--
John Iacoletti       IBM AWS Austin       Internet: johniac@austin.ibm.com
        My opinions do not reflect the views of the IBM Corporation
    "Egad, a base tone denotes a bad age" -- TMBG   "I Palindrome I"
Xref: sparky alt.politics.elections:24089 alt.politics.perot:5569 talk.politics.misc:60736