Public resources

02/06/2020 16 min

Listen "Public resources"

Episode Synopsis

In this episode, I argue that any resource that can be made public should be. This is a very liberal position to take. However, I make a conservative argument for this liberal position. I basically assert that public resources free up capital for industries where true innovation is occurring. Essentially, I posit that that innovation alone is for the private sector, and everything else that can basically be put on autopilot should be made into a public resource. These public resources will benefit the private innovation sector because they'll be able to get lots of things basically for free, and focus their capital where it really matters. One example I make of public resources benefiting the private sector is roads. In the US, most roads are public. If they were privatized overnight, that would be an extra expense for everybody, and it would drain capital from every innovating industry. Another example is internet service. That is something that can easily be made public, but is currently private in the US. It is draining capital from everyone.

I do acknowledge that tax dollars are also a drain on capital, and nothing is truly free. However, things generally cost less when allocated to the public sector because the profit motive does not exist (no executives to pay, no shareholders, etc).