"Matthew S. Whiting" wrote in message
...
John Mazor wrote:

If the phone company screws up, your call doesn't go through. If
Tony's ATC Service and Aluminum Siding Company gets the low bid
and
then screws up, you die. If Big Jimbo's Fire Department and Auto
Repair screws up, you die. If Slick Sammy's Police and Pet
Grooming
Station screws up, you die. There's a qualitative difference
here,
which is why historically we have tended not to privatize these
functions, at least in the sense of auctioning it off to the
lowest
bidder who wants to make a profit at it.

Within a few days, you'll be able to switch phone providers at
will
and keep your old phone number. You can't do that with ATC,
switching
contractors willy-nilly when one kills people or another comes
along
with a better price.

Sorry, if the call is 911, somebody very well could die.

True, but since I don't have the stats on 911 calls, I'll make a WAG
here and restate it to read that if the phone company screws up,
99.999% of the time all that happens is that your call doesn't go
through.

But you swung a two-edged sword by mentioning 911 calls. Once your
call goes through, who do you think is at the other end of the line?
It's not Ernestine the Operator. It's a government employee.