Now, if you want to talk "free market" how about disbanding the NWS all
together and make the for profit companies pay for their own observation
facilities? They would instantly be out of business.

But the government does have responsibility for providing essential services
for the public good and reasonably accurate weather forcasting is one of
those essential services so how about proposing that the commercial services
pay for the data. Say total up the cost of running the NWS and bill it to
the for profit services monthly prorata based on the number of bytes they
download.

Wanna bet on how loud they would howl?

--
Glenn Ashmore

I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or lack
there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com
Shameless Commercial Division: http://www.spade-anchor-us.com

"Dave" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 28 Jun 2005 14:47:59 -0400, DSK said:

Guvmint paid weather may have made sense once upon a time. Today I'm not
at
all sure it does. Them as needs it can pay for it.

???

But you are paying for it, and will continue to pay for it. The proposal
is not private funding of the weather services, but to continue to use
tax money for weather services, which will then be given *only* to
for-profit weather advisors, and sold to you... in other words, everyone
will pay for it, those who use it will pay twice, and those who are
smiled on by our benevolent gov't are guaranteed a profit.

Want to re-think your above statement?

Nope. First, the money spent by those purchasing the service from the
guvmint doesn't just go poof and evaporate. (Though what does happen to it
is another story.) Second, nobody's "guaranteed a profit." Like anything
bought and sold, the data may result in a profit, and it may result in a
loss to the purchaser. "Guaranteed a profit" is simply empty-headed
populist
rhetoric.