General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Industries that should NOT be for profit. I'll start: [View all]RainDog
(28,784 posts)All levels of education should be sliding fee scale payment. Education should not be limited to the mindset of acquiring a job - i.e. keep funding liberal arts, even if they aren't going to make someone rich in the pocket - b/c they make the culture richer by its exposure to our and others' cultural histories. But practical education should be part of formal education, too.
Theoretical research at the post-doc level should be funded for itself, not for what it produces - i.e. grants should come from the govt. for pure research that fuels a lot of future production - but not all the time, or even within a particular timeframe.
I think utilities should be commonly held so that the use of alternative energy has no bearing on profit for a company, etc. This would also force concerns related to these issues to pass muster with govt. standards instead of thinking they will do the right thing - b/c we see they don't.
Public Libraries (I have nothing against private libraries, but we need public libraries as a commons)
Healthcare
Prisons
Highways and other modes of mass transportation from state to state (including some sort of rail system across the entire nation.)