All utilities are needs and should be totally run by the government for the people in society. Power, water, sewer, phone, internet, trash service, roads, parks, bridges, airports, mass transportation are all needs. There is little to no competition anyway. It is wrong to have big money making bigger money fleecing the public in need of these basic services to modern life. And ripping off the workers while they are at it.
The government could create great solid secure jobs by directly hiring the talented people needed to provide these services. What on Earth is government for, anyway, if it can't provide these basic needs of modern society?
When you have big corporate executive profit-maximizing management, you are going to get minimized services and maximized profits. That is their job goal.
We want managers whose job goal it is to maximize services while minimizing cost. People are highly motivated to do a good job of public service. There are a lot of very talented and qualified people who would love to have such responsibilities and would be happy to perform them at a reasonable salary that provides them a very comfortable life. Not opulent, not gaudy displays of wealth, simply a salary which provides them a good secure life with paid time off for illness, maternity, and 6-12 weeks of paid vacation every year, a nice retirement in the living style they are accustomed to, the ability to send their children to college (which should be free to everyone who can get passing grades anyway.) We could pay high managers for all of that and it still wouldn't cost as much as the salary of big corporate executives.
And the government doing things would not have the big expense of hyper-advertising and marketing. And it would not have to make a big fat profit.
We are doing things all wrong.
Capitalism only rewards those who have capital invested in the endeavor. Everybody else gets screwed. All the workers, the customers, suppliers, etc. It's all for the executives and investors. That's who capitalism rewards.
We need capitalism with it's motivation and ingenuity for wants; and we need socialism for our social needs. That's logical.
Tax the rich enough to pay for it already.
That would make America MUCH greater.
Universal Health Care, a UBI, and a housing program for the poor, too. Get everybody who wants one owning their own home.
Come on. Let's fix this country right. The logical way.
We live in squalor.
Link?