>>158
Monopolies are arbitrary. The only monopolies which are not arbitrary are the monopolies decreed by government. And those are decreed by arbitrary bureaucrats within government.
Differences in product quality and prices are to be expected. You don't bitch that a Ferrari is optimal, but it's expensive, and pretend it somehow rebuts the idea that cars should not be given away for free. If the fastest route was the most expensive, you'd have traffic jams clearing up overnight, but only with free prices and private property can the roads be priced according to supply and demand as they should be.
There is no "highest possible price that people will still pay". That's collectivethink. Different people will pay different amounts. As the price goes up, the number of people willing to pay goes down. As the price goes down, the number of people willing to pay goes up. It's not like everyone buys uniformly up to a certain price and then suddenly stops. Because of the way the market works outside your imagination, there won't be monopoly pricing.
It wasn't me that discussed paying for subway tickets. That was someone else.
Taxes involve bureaucracy, which is wasteful. Purchases do not involve bureaucracy. Taxes are regressive. Anyone who thinks taxes are progressive in anything other than name is uninformed on the subject. The poor pay a higher percentage in taxes than the rich. When the rich pay the taxes, they pass the cost onto the poor. That's why it's better to have direct payment.