Covert-OPs_

Sounds good, once this long ass update is over I'll shoot you guys invites. I'm at 24%...

should we be posting here?

Anyone interested hit me up online, we have a few clan members that are in the beta and will be playing online organized and strategically.

We have 6 members with Xbox360's.

lX-LUCIFER-Xl ]

Covert-OPs_ ]

lX-LUCIFER-Xl ]

Covert-OPs_ ]

and if we don't all understand by now that a monopoly in any segment of our economy is a bad thing, than the level of knowledge/intelligence in this country is very discouraging.

 

THere are monopolies called natural monopolies. Where the fixed cost is huge. These natural monopolies are regulated by local governments.

 

Examples include ... cable companies, power utilities, phone companies. That is why there is only generally only one company to get cable internet from.

 

The decision has been made, in some parts of the economy, monopolies are preferred to competition. Could you imagine two companies competing to provide cable service?

 

Is healthcare a natural monopoly?

 

 

Me personally, I do not like these regulated monopolies ... but we do have parts of the economy where we prefer these monopolies to private competition.

 

Who is we? I believe in complete unadulterated competition. What would be bad about having multiple companies providing you with cable service? Would the sky fall? What would be the negative outcomes?

 

There is a large fixed cost to get in the cable business. Five cable companies would have to provide their own cable line into your residence. For power companies, each power company would need to have its own power line system. COuld you imagine five sets of power lines connected to your house? Or what about competitive sewage?

 

I am just saying here, the decision has been made somewhere along the line that natural monopolies should not be subject to competition and need to be regulated. I live in Florida. I have one land line phone company to chose from, one power company to get my power, and one cable company for TV. The idea is that the large fixed cost to entry makes it almost impossible for new companies to compete. The barriers to entry are to high for private competition.

"The idea" limits someones ability to do it better than everyone else. I too live in Florida(and with the exception for phone I do not have any other options as you stated) and I think that it is a tragedy that an elected official or otherwise can dictate how many companies can operate in any sector of the economy. You mention sewage and I do feel there are certain things that are better handled by local Govt's however in my opinion that should be VERY LIMITED. As far as monopolies are concerned they should be completely unavailable, there is no such thing as a natural monopoly. Someone, somewhere that pretends to know better for the population as a whole, has created such a term.

lX-LUCIFER-Xl ]Some make that argument for healthcare. The fixed cost is so high, it is a natural monopoly.

 

 

I am just making the point that there are plenty of monopolies all over the country that we deal with every day. I personally support competition in these areas. I hate having no choice. There is competitive power in new england and northern virgina, I wish we had it in Florida.

As with your above statement, why should anyone be able to determine that the fixed costs to start a business is too high and as a result create a "natural monopoly"? If I have the money, the means, intelligence and determination to create the best insurance company in the U.S nothing should stop me but myself! What you're saying is that there is some official somewhere that is trying to protect me from creating a company because the fixed costs maybe too high for me to do it. That's my problem not any public officials!

While there are many monopolies across the country it does not mean that they should exist. Some people may think that politicians know better but I am not one. Being a business owner and the former Vice President of another company I can tell you that the majority of these people are clueless. The overwhelming majority are career bureaucrats that have never run any successful organization. There is no way they should be making social policies, economic or anything else that infringes on the rights of the people(IMO of course).

Just look at how some states are leasing out roads to private companies, something similar could be done with power lines, cable lines, etc, to anyone that wanted to get "in the biz". Obviously there is planning that needs to take place but that is something that business owners NEED to be involved in(not dumb politicians). Link Here People can continue to live in a bubble and pretend that things like "natural monopolies"(which is impossible) are a good thing but when it comes to free market economics they never will be.

To the OP, there is no way to separate this topic from politics because Nationalized Heathcare is an expansion of Gov't that serves to empower more politicians on both sides of the isle. I'll leave you all with a great American and his thoughts of socialized medicine(which is what we're really talking about here).

Video Here

lX-LUCIFER-Xl ]

Covert-OPs_ ]

and if we don't all understand by now that a monopoly in any segment of our economy is a bad thing, than the level of knowledge/intelligence in this country is very discouraging.

 

THere are monopolies called natural monopolies. Where the fixed cost is huge. These natural monopolies are regulated by local governments.

 

Examples include ... cable companies, power utilities, phone companies. That is why there is only generally only one company to get cable internet from.

 

The decision has been made, in some parts of the economy, monopolies are preferred to competition. Could you imagine two companies competing to provide cable service?

 

Is healthcare a natural monopoly?

 

 

Me personally, I do not like these regulated monopolies ... but we do have parts of the economy where we prefer these monopolies to private competition.

Who is we? I believe in complete unadulterated competition. What would be bad about having multiple companies providing you with cable service? Would the sky fall? What would be the negative outcomes?

There are few segments of the economy that can have a private system survive once there is a public system. Generally speaking, public assistance/public systems offer services for nothing. This trend creates a problem for private entities because they need to profit on some level to sustain their services. And while many chastise companies for trying to profit for services rendered, it is the profit that drives the higher quality service, it's the profit that drives efficiencies, it's what drives the incentive to be the best.

Now in a perfect world the public option would be great because we'd be paying nothing(perceived notion because essentially our tax dollars will go to pay for said services) but the reality is that public systems/Gov't run programs rarely if ever are run efficiently. There is never any incentive to provide quality service, there is NEVER incentive to improve any aspect of the services rendered. As a result, you're ultimately creating a monopoly and if we don't all understand by now that a monopoly in any segment of our economy is a bad thing, than the level of knowledge/intelligence in this country is very discouraging.

John ]

Let me address the second part of your statement 1st- We are not able to move forward with our plans for UF if we try to discern the facts of every major event in the past. There are a few that we intend to, but most are just too old or what we know about them or weigh the value of, just isn't enough, worth it or both.

 

Now to the first part- The threads started as a poorly handled match complaint OUTSIDE the rep section of black by a non rep. It degraded into a name calling, clan bashing, staff insulting abomination from there.

 

Regarding the integrity of Urgent fury, it is my hope that there really was never a favoritism issue here in UF. But I assure you, if there was a hint of it then, there is none now. If anything was mishandled then, you should expect that it wont be now. Your question appears to address my statement as keeping your mouth shout if you don't like something. That is far from what we want and ask of the members of UF. There are many areas available to all levels of the community: Clan reps for wars, and newly added areas such as a Clan leaders area, a general members Suggestion box, etc. All of these areas are here with the intention of allowing intelligence to reach us efficiently and through manageable channels. It is expected that they are used with respect, and proper maturity. A 'flame war' is never going fix the situation here. Bringing a genuine concern to our attention properly and reasonably, will.

 

Myself, Shane and AC have now purchased UF, we are now the owners and leaders here. Our staff now follows us faithfully and do not influence our choices. We are here, NOW.

 

That sounds good, as long as we're "allowed" to express when we feel something is "wrong".(in the appropriate area of course) I was not trying to re-hash any old problems, just wanted to be sure that those kinds of practices were not continuing under the current administration. Thank you for your timely response, I was beginning to get concerned.

John ]

In the last 2 weeks we had 2 threads run out of control. These threads debated several past issues, a current Black issue and the leadership integrity of the UF Staff.

 

About 80% of all involved in the threads exhibited behavior that IS NOT acceptable here in Urgent Fury. Whether intended for good or down right malicious, it should NEVER have lasted as long as it did. Perhaps some felt safe in the twilight of the changeover before we took ownership, or whatever the reasons may be....... Let me tell you, we WERE the owners at that time and WERE watching.

 

There were a laundry list of broken rules, most seriously: disrespecting other clans, disrespecting UF Staff and questioning the integrity of Urgent Fury.

 

I want all of you reading this to understand that SEVERAL members, More than ONE clan in whole, AND ONE UF Ranger ALMOST lost their Privilege to be here in Urgent Fury and to share in the great new direction we are taking.

 

Just because there has been an ownership change here DOES NOT mean we do not expect EVERY one of you to continue respecting and following every rule that has been set forth by the previous owners and new rules as they are implemented.

 

We intend to maintain the Core values that Urgent Fury has developed over the 6 years, and will enforce them without hesitation.

 

You are all here to have a good time, make sure you are part of the way that happens.

 

I'm comfortable with everything in your post with the exception of the part I bolded. Are we not allowed to voice concern if we see something that is "less than honorable"? To be fair I have not been around enough to have direct knowledge of the events in question. Is it that they(the violations) were not posted in the right area? Or is it just that we're not allowed to post when we find something that may put Urgent Fury's integrity in question?(whether it be true or not)

TOU left Urgent Fury originally because when one of the creators lied and tried to twist facts, I forwarded the very PM where he plainly did all the things he denied. After I did that I was chastised for using the FACTS as evidence because they were in a "private" message, never mind that there was a creator lying and trying to bully another clan(TOU). Anyway, we're back and would like to enjoy competitive gaming. I just want to make sure I understand the kind of environment that exists now.