martinocortez
01-14-2008, 10:17 AM
Howdy,
Longtime libertarian here with a couple ideas that will resonate with many people.
1) Canvas your local public transportation hub. Point out that many public transit agencies are government monopolies. Ask if the bus/ferry/train is on time. Ask if they think a private company could do better. Ask them why only your government can run a ferry system? Ask them why New York once sued a private company for trying to compete with their bus service. Ask them why a private bus system that is seemingly competitive with the governments should be disallowed? (I don't have any citations for this, but I recall a segment on 60 minutes MANY years ago on this - the people who rode the companies bus loved all the creature comforts, but New York was worried if private bus guys took over the private bus system would only serve "profitable areas")
2) Did you know most Cable TV franchises are essentially government appointed monopolies? Do you like your cable company? (thought ironically, the deregulation of the telco is giving the cable tv folk a run for their money, and the fact that cabletv is starting to do voip is giving the former telco's a run for their money too!). Better be able to back up how a competitor could compete (and honestly, with things like clearwire, the cabletv monopoly will get crumbled anyway).
3) Want proof? Are we better after we deregulated Ma Bell? What would happen if we had a government controlled cell phone carrier?
4) Do you know how long the FDA takes to screen new drug treatments? While I disagree with the idea of removing the FDA completely, one could argue that removing the FDA will spawn more innovation in medicine because drug companies could get their product to the market quicker and with less cost. You must tread lightly on this - the FDA (IMHO) was created for a very good reason.
Don't play the libertarian card directly though - too academic. Play the capitalism card instead. Libertarianism is pretty much pure capitalism. There is much to be won with small businesses who hate all the red tape. Do contractors enjoy paying "double" their tax because they pick up what an employer would pay for social security?
My $0.02
Longtime libertarian here with a couple ideas that will resonate with many people.
1) Canvas your local public transportation hub. Point out that many public transit agencies are government monopolies. Ask if the bus/ferry/train is on time. Ask if they think a private company could do better. Ask them why only your government can run a ferry system? Ask them why New York once sued a private company for trying to compete with their bus service. Ask them why a private bus system that is seemingly competitive with the governments should be disallowed? (I don't have any citations for this, but I recall a segment on 60 minutes MANY years ago on this - the people who rode the companies bus loved all the creature comforts, but New York was worried if private bus guys took over the private bus system would only serve "profitable areas")
2) Did you know most Cable TV franchises are essentially government appointed monopolies? Do you like your cable company? (thought ironically, the deregulation of the telco is giving the cable tv folk a run for their money, and the fact that cabletv is starting to do voip is giving the former telco's a run for their money too!). Better be able to back up how a competitor could compete (and honestly, with things like clearwire, the cabletv monopoly will get crumbled anyway).
3) Want proof? Are we better after we deregulated Ma Bell? What would happen if we had a government controlled cell phone carrier?
4) Do you know how long the FDA takes to screen new drug treatments? While I disagree with the idea of removing the FDA completely, one could argue that removing the FDA will spawn more innovation in medicine because drug companies could get their product to the market quicker and with less cost. You must tread lightly on this - the FDA (IMHO) was created for a very good reason.
Don't play the libertarian card directly though - too academic. Play the capitalism card instead. Libertarianism is pretty much pure capitalism. There is much to be won with small businesses who hate all the red tape. Do contractors enjoy paying "double" their tax because they pick up what an employer would pay for social security?
My $0.02