JoshFeb 25

Of the lessons that can be drawn from Mamdani’s campaign and now Mayoralty, one of them is talking about (and delivering) the efficient, high-quality public services that well-run, well-resourced government can provide.

We see time and time again that getting the “market” to deliver what the state should provide results in over-paying for substandard services. Or being unable to deliver anything at all — Auckland’s light rail and Kiwibuild being prime examples.

The state can, and should, have the capacity to plan, deliver, and maintain the high-quality infrastructure and services that modern life demands.

“Maintenance is always cheaper than repair, and one of the main differences between a business and a government is that a business's shareholders can starve maintenance budgets, cash out, and leave the collapsing firm behind them, while governments must think about the long term consequences of short-term thinking”

H/t to @pluralistic

#nzpol

https://pluralistic.net/2026/02/24/mamdani-thought/#public-excellence

Pluralistic: Socialist excellence in New York City (24 Feb 2026) – Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow

Show threadChrisFeb 25
@joshjacobsen @pluralistic also, infrastructure designed by the private sector goes to enormous length to avoid maintenance, making the upfront cost massive, and then.... some overlooked part will still break!
Show threadbovazFeb 25
@ASprinkleofSage @joshjacobsen @pluralistic I'm so sad this is so absolutely true in every sector.
Almost weekly I'm in meetings trying to explain that software costs are mostly in the long term maintenance of its infrastructure and the software itself.
I suppose this is even more true in the actual infrastructure of society.
But none of that is the big sexy work with the big sexy check attached to it.
Show threadvFeb 25
@bovaz not to totally derail this conversation about infrastructure but i imagine those meetings are extra fun in the era of vibecoding
Show threadbovaz
@NocturnalNessa every other meeting someone asks how much are we using AI tools to improve our workflows, and I have to spend a few minutes explaining why the answer is less than 0.
Feb 25 at 2:59pmWeb