Privatize national park campgrounds, food trucks, senior discount blackout dates

[Brecklundin]

thread is microcosm of society today. it's all about the mighty corporations and their, by it's very nature, the ever inflationary need for "accelerating" profits. Profit is not enough it grow at an ever accelerating rate. That's the root how flawed our system is now.

beyond depressing thread....

[TonyMac]

Originally Posted by MotorPro

We only have national debt because major corporations pay no taxes. If they paid their fair share we could fix all our roads and parks.........and I rest my case.

Our national debt comes from spending more than we take in; it's a spending issue as well as a taxing issue. "Only" doesn't work here. I note above a spending issue above, $70,000 to transport a 90-pound box. Every end-of-year, federal agencies have to spend their remaining budget to zero, buying stuff they do not need, for fear of losing their surplus the next year. Big waste.

Every corporation prepares and files their taxes. Some, using rules in place that anyone can take advantage of, pay zero because they invested those profits elsewhere. We all use the tax system to our advantage, taking whatever deductions are legal for our situation, nothing unethical or illegal here. Anyone who feels like paying extra taxes of their own money can easily do so. If you hate the tax laws, vote for someone to change them. It's not the tax filer, it's the tax laws, and the politicians who wrote them.

[DRM901]

Per Fortune magazine: "In a previous ITEF study of 258 Fortune 500 companies that were profitable in every year from 2008 to 2015, 18 of them paid no federal income in any of those years.*" 7%. On the personal tax side, the participation rate is only around 50%. Not sure where you are getting your facts on corporate taxes.

[richard5933]

Originally Posted by DRM901

Per Fortune magazine: "In a previous ITEF study of 258 Fortune 500 companies that were profitable in every year from 2008 to 2015, 18 of them paid no federal income in any of those years.*" 7%. On the personal tax side, the participation rate is only around 50%. Not sure where you are getting your facts on corporate taxes.

Participation rate is not the main factor. My point was that over the decades the portion of the Federal tax burden shared by corporations has dropped substantially. Not talking about tax rates either - I'm talking about the percentage of the tax revenues paid by corporate tax dollars vs. tax dollars paid by individuals.

In the 1950s, corporations funded about one-third (33%) of the tax burden. That has fallen to one-tenth (10%) of the tax burden. Who made up the difference? You and I. Yet during this time the compensation paid to the people at the top of the corporations has skyrocketed. If the tax savings the corporations have seen were passed along to consumers or workers, I'd agree that things worked out in the end. Unfortunately, for the most part corporations have taken their tax savings and used them to benefit very few.

Some more reading on corporate taxes: https://americansfortaxfairness.org/...ate-tax-rates/

I'm not at all against people making money or corporations making profit. I think it's good for everyone when that happens. But, corporations can only do what they do using things paid for with public money, like the roads, ports, and airports. They used to pay their fair share of these public investments, but now they seem to take much more than they contribute, in my opinion.

[Busskipper]

IMHO the discussion should center around the issues that the Sub-committee Raised;

The subcommittee called park campgrounds “the victims” of park infrastructure problems as the U.S. park service faces a $12 billion maintenance backlog.
“There is also broad consensus that the current national park campground system, largely operated by federal employees, combines inadequate and outmoded visitor infrastructure,” the memo reads, saying campgrounds lack funds, have not kept up with demand and they fail "to meet expectations of the contemporary camping market.”

OR

The memo argues that the 50 percent discount for seniors should apply only to base campsite fees and encourages NPS to introduce “new senior fee blackout periods during peak season periods.”

OR

?......?

[DRM901]

Getting back to the original topic, Teddy*Roosevelt*said 'Complaining about a*problem without posing a solution is called whining.'
So, I would recommend:
1. NPS focus on their core competences, overseeing the running of the parks.
2. Look at fees. Only 117 parks charge an entry fee; 300 do not.
3. Contract out stores & restaurants with NPS getting a % of profit to encourage both sides.
4. Establish joint projects with local contractors to address backlog of upgrades. Give them the publicity, goodwill, signage etc to make to attractive to them.

[Busskipper]

Originally Posted by DRM901

Getting back to the original topic, Teddy*Roosevelt*said 'Complaining about a*problem without posing a solution is called whining.'
So, I would recommend:
1. NPS focus on their core competences, overseeing the running of the parks.
2. Look at fees. Only 117 parks charge an entry fee; 300 do not.
3. Contract out stores & restaurants with NPS getting a % of profit to encourage both sides.
4. Establish joint projects with local contractors to address backlog of upgrades. Give them the publicity, goodwill, signage etc to make to attractive to them.

Good positive suggestions,

Teddy*Roosevelt*said 'Complaining about a*problem without posing a solution is called whining.'

Not many of of those. - -

[Gleaf]

What congressman or woman’s relative gets the sole source contract?

[twogypsies]

Originally Posted by Gleaf

What congressman or woman’s relative gets the sole source contract?

via a bidding process which is done now with the concessioniers.

[BobK53]

Originally Posted by RRR

Elections have consequences.

Only if enough people get out and vote. Many people just do not take the time.

[BobK53]

Originally Posted by DRM901

I'm confused. You want to pay little to use the parks, but we know the revenue is not covering their maintenance & admin costs. Hence, private firms charge more so they do cover their costs. Yes they also are making some profit, but the main driver of the price difference is maintenance costs. Federal money is printed, but only at a cost to all who pay taxes.

Yes, I agree that people should pay more to cover maintenance and admin costs, but profit should not be included. Everyone should not have to pay more so that a CEO can make a million dollars per year.

[RossWilliams]

What economics tells us is that in he private sector prices are determined by how much people are willing to pay and what will maximize revenue and profits.



If 100 people will pay $1000 to visit the Grand Canyon you get $100,000, If only 1000 people will pay $10, then you get $10,000.You can make a lot more money serving those 100 wealthy people than 1000 not so wealthy.



Of course in the private sector, the owners get a return on the use of their property. So if parks were a private enterprise they would not only have to cover their costs from users, they would have to provide a net profit to the public that owns them.


Of course none of that is what is really being talked about. What is being talked about is park users paying more money and most of that money ending up in the pocket of private concessionaires. With concessionaires cherry-picking the parks where they can make the most money and the less popular parks still not having enough money to do basic maintenance.

[lbfjrmd]

+ 1 for privatization! the pros outweigh the cons.

[SocioSam]

Originally Posted by katydid

So sad, hate to see food trucks, vendors, and reductions in discounts and blackout dates at our national parks. New committee was formed to push this.

https://apple.news/AEr7WP6dHQCmlLIYfiMmoJA

Vote!