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This is fundamentally false and no person with any intelligence could possibly say this with a straight face.

This works in the same sense Communism works. On paper. Not in real life. We see that every day.


This is a case of "see sig".

Greed is not, fundamentally, good. The price of freedom is discipline, self-restraint. Accepting that we must impose on ourselves what we choose to not allow others to impose.

It is a form of moral laziness to deny the question of morality and say that virtue and vice are one and the same.

The USPS is fine. It doesn't need to be privatized. We will not all starve to death if oil or mail prices go up or renewable energy is subsidized, ensuring our future.

Go read Tacitus. The man wrote two hundred years after the fall of the Roman Republic - after the death of Roman freedom. He engaged a difficult question of interest to people of the time: should the freedoms of the Republic be brought back? He wasn't partial to the imperial tyranny - he lost much of his family in political violence - but his answer was...no.

Tacitus lived in a "post-democratic" society, and he understood something very important, which was that the reason freedom couldn't come back to Rome was that the people couldn't handle it. He understood that it was because of the excesses of the Roman people, their inability to be content with what they had or to appreciate the importance of the common good, that ended Roman freedom. The discipline they could not impose on themselves was inevitably imposed on them by others.

People like to fixate on his famous "deserts and peace" cliche (which is a misquote), but another part of that same speech is at least as important:



The point is, Tacitus understood that to be free...one most also understand the need to restrain greed. To serve the greater good over one's self interest.

Aestu of Bleeding Hollow...

Nihilism is a copout.

so if we won't starve to death if mail prices go up, why can't they raise prices til the USPS no longer runs on a deficit?

When I receive the tax return back inside a plastic bag, with a huge chunk torn off it and an "oops, our bad" letter from the USPS, I'm just plain furious.



I bought priority mail, and it had been shipped from the business...went to indianapolis or some place, then I saw the update when it reached Chicago and was scanned. It was literally sitting waiting to be sent out by the post office for a week. Amazon estimated the delivery date as September 1, which is precisely when it was scanned in Chicago. I didn't receive it until the 8th. Even with Labor Day, that is absurd.




1. Stop saying shill
2. I don't see how any of my personal failings would make me hate the government more. It's quite the opposite. Being a competent person who knows how businesses/services could and should be run efficiently; I am enraged by the government's utter ineptitude in this regard. If I didn't pay for it with my tax dollars, I wouldn't give two shits. Since I do though, it is infuriating.
3. Also, we're forgetting about all those ridiculous pensions the fat postal workers get for being useless fucks. One big reason why the USPS can't figure out how to not lose a shit ton of money.

So at what point does self interest become greed? Or is all self interest greed?

This also sounds like it's saying: to keep freedom alive, we're going to restrict freedom.

Restricted freedom being an oxymoron.

I've had that happen a couple times over many years. How many times has it happened to you and what makes you think private industry will do better given the reliability of American cars and internet?



Priority mail, flat out, that doesn't happen. Do you have the tracking number or records?



There's a lot of them today and it's a major factor in what's wrong with our society. Problems have a way of getting solved when they're discussed in frank and accurate terms.



Because when private companies make mistakes at least as often you don't question free enterprise. Government enterprises make a mistake and it's OMG GOVT SUX



USPS is cheaper than UPS/FedEx or courier services so what makes you say they're "useless fucks" when they do the same for less?

Aestu of Bleeding Hollow...

Nihilism is a copout.

All freedom is restricted freedom.

Unless you live in the Garden of Eden where you can just eat whatever you see and lay down wherever you like, living in a free, civil society means choosing to sacrifice some freedoms to be more free. There's things like money, property, work, responsibility, and simple social appropriateness.

Take something as simple as an election. Our democratic system has worked, and continues to - with its failings it is still better than most of the extant alternatives - because unlike in most countries, we are willing to stop short of going at it with guns when an election resolves a way we don't like and we have to go with decisions we don't agree with.

Same with freedoms like money or speech. With that freedom comes the restrictions on what one can do with those things that make the freedoms viable.

Self-interest becomes greed when it exceeds moderation. When we want more than is our fair share. In the case of the USPS I'd certainly say that's the case since like I said, it works fine.

Aestu of Bleeding Hollow...

Nihilism is a copout.

It's not that it would never happen if it were privatized; it's that I could at least get my money back, or I could write a bad review about the service, or I could take my business elsewhere. The private industry has the built-in incentive to provide better service because people will go elsewhere.



Okay, upon further review I actually didn't get priority mail. The other facts remain the same though, estimated delivery was September 1st, which is when the thing was scanned and in Chicago. I didn't get it until the 8th. That's still bullshit imo.





It all goes back to incentive. I can at least take action when private companies make mistakes. I can do no such thing with the government. I will still be taxed, and the shitty service will still exist.

ANOTHER WILD AESTU ASSUMPTION



WTB IMPROVED BLIZZARD PST

Aestu of Bleeding Hollow...

Nihilism is a copout.

Here I thought I was the only one that realized this.



So what is the definition of moderation and fair share?

What makes someone more qualified to define it than someone else?

There isn't. Democracy is a challenge. Like I said, I feel comfortable going against prevailing opinion because prevailing opinion is leading us into a gulch.

Aestu of Bleeding Hollow...

Nihilism is a copout.

My company has contracts with a couple government agencies, we have a lot of people sub-contracted to other companies that need subject matter experts and we've got a bunch of commercial contracts. I'm on none of them. I work for the company and I'm paid from over-head. I'm actually not earning any money for my company... I'm just one of their internal IT guys and I write software for the company. If I was on a contract then my company would be pulling in an inflated $100 for each hour I spend working or fucking around on FUBU (and I'd only see about 30% of that)... but if I was on a contract I'd probably be in a SCIF and not have access to FUBU, FoxNews or anything else. I guess I can do whatever the fuck I want with my down time at no inflated expense to the tax payer. I know you're jealous... but get mad - you don't know me nigga!

"Don't shoot me! I just work here!"

Aestu of Bleeding Hollow...

Nihilism is a copout.

None of what I said is refuted by your verbal diarrhea. If your company did not receive government contracts would they exist? If the company doesn't exist your job doesn't exist. Claim ignorance all you want, bottom line is if it came down to it you would be in favor of any government contract that ensures stability for the company you work for and thus stability for you. I don't think there is anything wrong with that. When it becomes retarded is when you automatically rage about every single government "waste" that does not benefit you in some shape or form.

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