| | Best wishes to Mr. Stolyarov for passing exam 3L.
I've read his Parts 15-20. I won't say much in response and basically agree with them. To an extent that is pretty easy to say, since he agreed with me. :-)
In post 95 I suggested considering the empirical evidence of the building or expansion of airports with regard to whether or not there would be unanimous approval among 1000's of people whose property is affected by proposed road construction, since it would be lucrative for all. Mr. Stolyarov replies:
Airports, if they are built or expanded, must be built within some specific land area, and the airport developer has little choice about where an existing airport might be expanded or how to arrange a new airport so as to accommodate unusual shapes of the plots of land on which it would stand. However, with roads, there is much more flexibility. I agree that there is generally more flexibility for roads, but think comparisons should be made with care. Compare new roads with new airports and road widening with airport expansion. There is little flexibility on widening roads. I admit it wasn't a superb analogy, but the target of my suggestion was Mr. Stolyarov's contention that with private roads there would be unanimous approval among 1000 people, since it would be lucrative for all.
In Part 19 he writes:
On the contrary, government failure to provide genuinely useful services (such as roads, education, health care or a myriad of other goods) is a genuine failure because government monopolizes or quasi-monopolizes the field and then fails to deliver on the goods, leaving consumers with a shortage of inferior-quality products (and virtually no superior-quality ones). I agree this is true in general, but an exaggeration as written. Again road quality much relates to traffic volume, age, and weather, not simply whether the road is private or government-owned. I also reply with a brief story. Returning from near Madison, WI to DeKalb, IL on Saturday, instead of taking I-39 down to I-88, we traveled Genoa Road and IL-23 instead (after a bit on I-90). Each is only two lanes, but in terrific shape. They probably don't get a lot of traffic, especially from 18-wheelers. But I guess that traffic is increasing. There is new construction along IL-23, like new housing developments and a brand new Jewel Food store, the location probably chosen to serve Genoa, Sycamore and DeKalb.
In Part 20 he writes:
And yet, I must ask Mr. Jetton and my other readers to compare the quality today of most privately built and owned apartments and most governmentally built and owned housing projects. Which kind of building typically exhibits less wear, better infrastructure, a longer expected functional lifespan, less crime, less vandalism, and more devotion to its upkeep on the part of its inhabitants? I grant there is a big difference private apartments and government housing projects, but don't see a lot of mileage :-) using that as an analogy with roads. Regarding private apartments he doesn't say whether he refers to owner-occupied or renter-occupied apartments. Residents of government housing projects are usually lower income renters. In either case lower income renters tend to be less careful about upkeep. I believe the analogy to roads is weakened because there is no counterpart among drivers. The vehicles that contribute the most to road deterioration are the 18-wheelers.
Also in Part 20 he writes:
The cost for the private entity is necessarily aligned with its own expenditures. It must pay for any expenses out of pocket or convince venture capitalists or donors to help them. For government officials, the benefit may well be detached from any consumer experiences. Rather, the officials may be seeking publicity, promotion, reelection, political power, or the advocacy of the ideology of government control. This is a valid point. However, I reply again that tolls, even on government-owned roads, provide a way of aligning revenues with consumer experiences.
(Edited by Merlin Jetton on 11/03, 11:15am)
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