Another example of the tragedy/fouling of the commons:
[URL="http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/us-sues-vw-emissions-cheating-software-diesel-cars-36082816"]US Sues VW Over Emissions-Cheating Software in Diesel Cars[/URL]
[QUOTE]In addition to producing far more pollution than allowed, experts say the excess nitrogen oxide and particulate emissions from the more than half-million VW vehicles had a human cost. A statistical and computer analysis by the Associated Press estimated the extra pollution [B]caused somewhere between 16 and 94 deaths[/B] over the last seven years, with the annual toll increasing as more of the diesels were on the road.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=only_human;421230]Another example of the tragedy/fouling of the commons:[/QUOTE]

And yet alcohol and tobacco are still legal, while simple possession of marijuana can send young men (most often coloured) to jail for many years...

Mean while, a young rich white boy gets released on bail after killing four people while driving while drunk, and then runs away to Mexico (with the help of his mommy).

What the heck???

[QUOTE=chalsall;421233]And yet alcohol and tobacco are still legal, while simple possession of marijuana can send young men (most often coloured) to jail for many years...

Mean while, a young rich white boy gets released on bail after killing four people while driving while drunk, and then runs away to Mexico (with the help of his mommy).

What the heck???[/QUOTE]
And each person pointlessly locked up is costing taxpayers 30 to 50 thousand dollars per year.

[QUOTE=only_human;421234]And each person pointlessly locked up is costing taxpayers 30 to 50 thousand dollars per year.[/QUOTE]

One might reasonably question if there is profit being made there?

A bit like asking why the "Great United States of America's" health care costs are so much higher than all other developed nations....

[QUOTE=only_human;421230]Another example of the tragedy/fouling of the commons:
[URL="http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/us-sues-vw-emissions-cheating-software-diesel-cars-36082816"]US Sues VW Over Emissions-Cheating Software in Diesel Cars[/URL][/QUOTE]

I expect it will be illustrative to compare the DOJ's approach in this case vs their hands-offing of the crooked bank cartels. As I link-posted in last year's MET thread, plausible estimates of the cost in lives (both ended and shortened) of the great recession and longer-term evisceration of the American middle class dwarf those related to the VW emissions. But the VW crooks ... those mooks are from outta state!

[QUOTE=chalsall;421235]One might reasonably question if there is profit being made there?

A bit like asking why the "Great United States of America's" health care costs are so much higher than all other developed nations....[/QUOTE]

In many states there are For Profit prisons. Even when states run the slammer, they may well contract trivia like food service, and maybe medical care.

I believe that (Federal) Immigrant Detention Facilities may also be privatized.

EDIT: I suggest that the title of this thread might be "Prose and Con Men."

What Did the Governor Know About Flint's Water, and When Did He Know It?
 

Michigan has finally declared a state of emergency over[B] [URL="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/01/what-did-the-governor-know-about-flints-water-and-when-did-he-know-it/423342/"]the city’s lead poisoning[/URL], [/B]but there are questions about why it’s taken so long to respond.

[QUOTE]In Flint, Michigan, a scandal over lead-tainted water keeps getting darker.

On Tuesday, Governor Rick Snyder [URL="http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2016/01/05/us-attorneys-office-investigating-lead-flint-water/78303960/"]declared a state of emergency[/URL] due to lead in the water supply. The same day, the U.S. Department of Justice [URL="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/flint-michigans-poisoned-water-is-under-federal-investigation-following-disastrous-cost-cutting-attempt_568c49d0e4b0a2b6fb6daecf"]announced[/URL] that it is investigating what went wrong in the city. Several top officials have resigned, and

Snyder apologized. But that’s only so comforting for residents. They’re drinking donated water supplies—though those donations are [URL="http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/flint-water-donations-run-dry--no-state-plan-598134339963"]reportedly running dry[/URL]—or using filters. Public schools have been ordered to shut off taps. Residents, and particularly children, are being poisoned by lead, which can cause irreversible brain damage and affect physical health. [URL="http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2016/01/07/governor-meet-morning-flint-mayor/78402190/?property=parameter"]It could cost $1.5 billion to fix the problem[/URL], a staggering sum for any city, much less one already struggling as badly as Flint is.

The story is horrifying, on a visceral, “this isn’t supposed to happen here” level. While attention has been slow to focus on Flint, the more that emerges, the worse the story seems. The latest question is when Snyder knew about the problem.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=kladner;421763]Michigan has finally declared a state of emergency over[B] [URL="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/01/what-did-the-governor-know-about-flints-water-and-when-did-he-know-it/423342/"]the city’s lead poisoning[/URL], [/B]but there are questions about why it’s taken so long to respond.[/QUOTE]
And this is the already financially devastated Flint, Michigan so prominently displayed in Michael Moore's [I]Roger and me[/I]. It seems he could have just sayed in Flint to complete his other works such as [I]Sicko[/I].

[QUOTE=only_human;421765]And this is the already financially devastated Flint, Michigan so prominently displayed in Michael Moore's [I]Roger and me[/I]. It seems he could have just sayed in Flint to complete his other works such as [I]Sicko[/I].[/QUOTE]

Wasn't this Flint disaster an example of government incompetence in a market
causing a mess? Water is a special case, as being a fundamental human
necessity, but this mess was government's fault primarily.

[QUOTE=davar55;421783]Wasn't this Flint disaster an example of government incompetence in a market
causing a mess? Water is a special case, as being a fundamental human
necessity, but this mess was government's fault primarily.[/QUOTE]
The motive involved saving money without adequate scrutiny or risks assesments. Money is at the heart and center of this. The invisible hand shut off a healthy valve and opened a toxic one. Did the emergency manager get a performance bonus prior to all this unnecessary harm being exposed?

[url]http://patch.com/michigan/westbloomfield/state-delayed-action-lead-flint-water[/url]
Flint Water: Records
E-mails suggest state officials asked for samples showing low levels of lead in water, and disqualified tests with high readings.
[QUOTE]According to the Free Press report, the e-mails showed that DEQ district coordinator Stephen Busch told the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in February that Flint had “an optimized corrosion control program” to prevent lead from getting into the water system when, in fact, the city had no corrosion control program at all.

DEQ spokesman Brad Wurfel declined to tell the Free Press why Busch indicated corrosion control measures were adequate to take care of the problem, why another DEQ official asked for water samples showing low lead levels, or why some of the samples showing higher lead levels were disqualified.[/QUOTE]

I'm getting tired of you dismissing recklessness involved in cost savings or in garnering profit. That is a flaw in many systems including capitalism.

Another thing. All the "don't blame" blather is very immature sounding. A person looks at what happened and assess things as best as they can to reach informed decisions. Shutting off consequential avenues of assessment [I]a priori[/I] is channeling the interior voice of a child.

[QUOTE]According to the Free Press report, the e-mails showed that DEQ district coordinator Stephen Busch told the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in February that Flint had “an optimized corrosion control program” to prevent lead from getting into the water system when, in fact, the city had no corrosion control program at all.[/QUOTE]
Clearly a typo. It should have read "optimistic corrosion control program".