this post was submitted on 05 Mar 2025
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[–] PrettyFlyForAFatGuy@feddit.uk 20 points 3 days ago (1 children)

They privatized the postal service in the UK.

It did not go well

[–] Blackmist@feddit.uk 16 points 3 days ago (1 children)

And the railways.

That did not go well either.

Although I'll wager it's still more useful than the US rail system.

[–] ameancow@lemmy.world 7 points 2 days ago

The reason we don't have a US rail system is because of the constant, unending efforts by automotive industries to dismantle all plans and dreams we've ever had for mass-transit. And every other possible public offering or social service that we pay taxes for.

[–] Lucky_777@lemmy.world 14 points 3 days ago (3 children)

At this point. How could anyone care or take seriously anything Musk or Trump spits. It's all lies and bullshit.

[–] ameancow@lemmy.world 12 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Privatising literally everything has been their end-goal with ALL of this the entire time. They plaster it with conservative talking points but this entire administration is an effort by corporate forces to dismantle public services, rights and benefits, so that if you so much want to drive to the store you will have to pay a subscription to use the privately maintained roads, so you have a credit-card reader by your faucet and toilet, so that they can tax you on rainwater you're required to have to collect rain from your gutters. (This is real in other countries.)

The efforts towards killing public services goes way, way back and if you look at every conservative/republican legislation, it all hinges around how "bad" public services are. Public schools teaching evolution, public television for simply existing, and they've been massively successful and killing the regulations and oversight on things like media fairness, public health proposals, safety nets and social services, and yes they really, really want to kill our medicare and medicaid, so they can replace them with more bullshit commercial services. They won't be happy until we stop getting paychecks we can choose how to use and we all just hand our pay right over to a number of subscription services for things they can take away if you miss a payment.

They want us poor, they want us stupid, they want an army of slaves and if they can't get it via racism and dehumanizing some identifiable group or population, they will just settle for full on serfdom and monarchy. Now get out there and work your lord's fields!

[–] NewLibraryGuy@lemm.ee 3 points 3 days ago

Lies and bullshit, but with a 50% chance of happening

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[–] match@pawb.social 236 points 4 days ago (2 children)

fuck no, nationalize spacex and starlink

[–] ivanafterall@lemmy.world 74 points 4 days ago (4 children)

Makes a whole lot more sense, honestly.

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[–] ameancow@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

This but unironically.

Can you imagine a presidential candidate running on the platform of seizing the assets of the billionaire class? They would transcend political parties, they would unify the nation and people would finally gain something from our politics.

And they would probably be found with thirty bullets to the back of the head and it would be ruled a suicide.

[–] chronicledmonocle@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

The billionaires would also drop every dollar they could into opponents, misinformation, and smear campaigns

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[–] DarkFuture@lemmy.world 34 points 3 days ago (2 children)

I suggest we deport this Nazi immigrant.

[–] boonhet@lemm.ee 3 points 3 days ago

I don't think any other country wants him either, except maybe Russia.

However, he IS a big space enthusiast. Maybe there should be not one, but two Teslas floating in space?

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[–] PalmTreeIsBestTree@lemmy.world 40 points 3 days ago (9 children)

Amtrak technically is privatized. That’s why it sucks so hard.

[–] captainWhatsHisName@lemm.ee 161 points 4 days ago (5 children)

No.

Not everything should be privatized so some asshole oligarch can have another toy.

[–] takeda@lemm.ee 79 points 4 days ago (3 children)

Exactly, we have UPS, FedEx, DHL and bunch of others.

Leave USPS the fuck alone.

[–] root_beer@midwest.social 36 points 4 days ago (3 children)

They’re all shit too. Fat lot of good privatization would do. USPS was Cool and Good until DeJoy was dropped in to throw wrenches into the cogs.

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[–] Nougat@fedia.io 54 points 4 days ago (1 children)

I'd bet he wants to take over Amtrak so he can replace it with that stupid Las Vegas car tunnel.

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[–] Davin@lemmy.world 21 points 4 days ago

Everything that has been privatized, has ended up costing us more for shittier service. This will not be different.

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[–] ShyCake@lemmy.blahaj.zone 10 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Elon Musk should privatize his face

[–] TomAwsm@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago

I disagree. He should make it more accessible to the public. Physically accessible.

[–] goldenquetzal@lemmy.world 4 points 3 days ago

No shit, I'm so tired of seeing it

[–] itsonlygeorge@reddthat.com 40 points 4 days ago (1 children)

They already tried this in LA with privatizing the public transportation system back in the 50’s. The big car companies bought it all and dismantled it in favor of selling their cars.

Most of Amtrak loses money except for the NE corridor. So if you privatize Amtrak it means even worse service and eventually no trains where it is not profitable.

Same with privatization of the USPS, it just means less services for a higher price until they decide to close it altogether because email will replace letters altogether. Say good by to any privacy since all email is monitored and capitalized for marketing.

Fuck fElon Muskrat.

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[–] OhStopYellingAtMe@lemmy.world 75 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (3 children)

The usps is a government SERVICE. These parasites look at that and say “but nobody profits from that” and somehow they just can’t let that happen.

[–] earphone843@sh.itjust.works 47 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (1 children)

The thing is they did generate a profit until they were fucked with by Republicans to make them look unprofitable.

[–] Maiq@lemy.lol 25 points 4 days ago

There isn't a functioning part of our government that the regressives wont destroy for private profit.

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[–] KulunkelBoom@lemm.ee 4 points 2 days ago

He'll find those already government run in Russia. Perhaps he should consider relocating to that shithole and leave the United States the fuck alone.

[–] Wispy2891@lemmy.world 31 points 4 days ago (2 children)

In my country since the government privatized a part of postal service, the quality of service heavily declined to the point that now is almost guaranteed that they will "lose" your letter if you send it in a place that will cost too much to deliver

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[–] thisphuckinguy@lemmy.world 29 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Someone punch him in the face, please

[–] coaxil@lemm.ee 15 points 4 days ago

I think a much smaller object with much much greater velocity it's referable.

[–] AntY@lemmy.world 47 points 4 days ago (3 children)

I remember seeing an interview with Margaret Thatcher where she said that rail could never be successfully privatized. Just as a reminder of how extreme Musk’s ideas are.

[–] CurlyWurlies4All@slrpnk.net 26 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (1 children)

Thatcher's successor, John Major, oversaw the privatisation of British railways between 1994 and 1997.

It only took 30 years for them all to completely collapse in 2024.

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[–] WhatSay@slrpnk.net 38 points 4 days ago (1 children)

You know who wants to replace the postal service? Amazon. They have delivery vehicles, lockers, and so on. They have been building towards it for years. I'm sure an attack on the postal service would leave Amazon on top, and I bet it's a plan in the works.

As for Amtrak, maybe musk wants to swallow it up with his boring company.

[–] jj4211@lemmy.world 22 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Actually they don't, they want to replace fedex and UPS.

No one wants the business of daily letter service.

[–] Zron@lemmy.world 32 points 4 days ago (3 children)

What people who want to gut the postal service don’t understand is that it’s a fucking service.

The USPS does last mile delivery for all courier agencies. FedEx and UPS won’t pay a driver to deliver your dildo out to your cabin in bumfuck Nebraska, but the USPS will, along with your tax documents, bank statements, and anything else you need.

If you get rid of USPS, you’re cutting anyone who isn’t in a major city off from not only packages, but critical documents.

[–] vithigar@lemmy.ca 23 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (1 children)

It is insane to me when people complain about the failure of a public service to turn a profit as if that's some kind of bad or unexpected outcome.

Services cost money to operate for the benefit of those using them. That is literally the point.

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[–] slinkyjelly@lemm.ee 28 points 4 days ago (1 children)
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[–] MasterNerd@lemm.ee 30 points 4 days ago

What a surprise given the fuckery he pulled with Hyperloop and California high speed rail

[–] MyOpinion@lemm.ee 19 points 4 days ago

This has been a fever dream of Republicans for my entire life. Looks like they just may get it this time.

[–] cabillaud@lemmy.world 13 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (3 children)

Step 1: Privatize and sell it for peanuts to fellow billionaires Step 2: Watch it crumble Step 3: Buy it back for a fortune from the very same people you sold it

E:English

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[–] Bathilda_Bagshot@lemmy.world 19 points 4 days ago

They want to eliminate or control the Postal Service so that they can eliminate mail-in voting. Their added bonus is padding the pockets of fellow millionaires and billionaires.

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