Should the Legion be privatized? I'm not even sure if RJ is footing the bill or the United Planets - it seems a bit much for even Mr. Moneybags to handle on his own...
Given the trend in our time to privatize everything that moves through the public purse, and thinking of both the down- and upsides, would you consider a privatized Legion?
Run by a corporation, maybe Brande Industries. Designed as a profit center. There would be cut-backs, there always are - and the less productive parts would be sold off or left to the taxpayers. Their activities might not always be directed to serve the public good, but would put the corporate mission first.
Advantages: well, someone or ones might get pretty rich. Legion World might become more efficient. . They might even expand their membership, unfettered by public budget constraints. They might exclude themselves from political bickering that surely goes on in the U.P. They could open up to A.P. candidates.
They might be a public company, listed on the stock exchange. What an IPO that would be! It could give a whole new meaning to the word bubble.
I'm not saying that they would turn into a Workforce, which served McCauley Industries alone, or into some big bad megalith of a nasty corporation. They might be more like L.E.G.I.O.N., working to contract. It wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing.
Posted by Eryk Davis Ester on :
Kind of like that old issue of Adventure where they started charging people to save them?
Posted by DrakeB3003 on :
I'd imagine the economy of Legion World would somehow fund the team, though we know very little of its set-up. Is it even considered part of Brande industries or is it its own sovereign nation? Does Legion World produce or trade anything? All the people living there have to feed themselves somehow...
Posted by Thriftshop Debutante on :
quote:Originally posted by Eryk Davis Ester: Kind of like that old issue of Adventure where they started charging people to save them?
Isn't Adventure their reward? Really!
Posted by He Who Wanders on :
The downside of a corporate-run Legion is that, while we all know Brande will give them the autonomy they need, suppose he were to die or be bought out. The Legion's next corporate overseers may not be so broad-minded.
Legion jumpsuits with the company logo? Sales pitches whenever they visit a new world? They can go after super-villains, but not if they happen to sit on the board of directors? I see a conflict of interest here.
Of course, a politically affiliated Legion has it's downside, too. But, as with law enforcement agencies, one assumes that a system of checks and balances will enable the Legion to do its job regardless of who's in power at the moment.
Posted by Arachne on :
Would the general populace trust a privatized Legion?
Posted by DrakeB3003 on :
Maybe they could just support themselves through licensing and merch -- a Legion dollie for every child in the U.P., I says! -- gotta get them all!
Posted by Fat Cramer on :
We obviously need a Legion World mini-series (or maxi-series) to answer all these questions. Author! Author!
Posted by Fat Cramer on :
Maybe that should be Wacker! Levitz! Who decides these things anyways?