Spoils the view of the woods. Who put this fence up? Oh, my government did. They took over a campground here. But something’s odd about it. The signs say the campground is full, but it looks empty. I see signs directing people to camp sites, to group camping, but I don’t see any people.
There are picnic tables, but they’re upside down. What a shame. This would be a great place to camp. Are there any people here? Finally, deep into the campground, I found a few trailers, and a few people. So I asked Why is this place to empty? Everything is sold out.
Sold out? How can that be? Maybe these people know. Why is it so empty here? I think it’s so empty because of COVID, honestly. Why would COVID make it empty? Because it’s camping! You got lots of room. That’s what we’re saying. What makes this empty campground even stranger,
Is that nearby there’s this full campground. Why is this place full while the state campground is empty? We asked the Parks department. I understand you tried them four times It was like asking the bureaucrat in this TV show. Sir, are you listening to me sir? Sir, I’m talking to you!
We kept calling and emailing, and 9 days later, someone finally told us they “had difficulties hiring seasonal employees.” What? Why? This is Massachusetts. This summer Massachusetts had the highest unemployment rate in America, yet the state, which offers to pay $25 dollars per hour,
Can’t find any workers who’d work, outdoors, in this beautiful forest? No official would agree to an interview about why they couldn’t find staff, but the owner of the full campground agreed to talk. He’s John Gauthier. Not far from you, there’s this government campground and it’s practically empty.
The state buys a private campground for $3 million, cuts the rates for residents by 50% Not only did the state spend millions, it’s camping operations lose thousands of dollars a year. We as a small business do not have that opportunity. That’s the difference between government and private business.
John has to make a profit. He even charges his customers for shower water It’s like 25 cents, I think for six minutes. But when you’re camping, six minutes or so is usually enough. At the empty government campground, water is free. [Water] The government’s few campers can waste all they want. [Water]
The private owner also can’t afford to leave his campsite empty. He works to keep it full. And it is. You have to get staff. I presume you try harder. If there was no staff, we were the staff. My day off is the week after Labor Day.
Because the private owner tries harder, lots of people get to camp. People happy here? Very happy here Rarely do we get to see such clear demonstrations of the difference between public and private, but they are everywhere. Government fails again and again, and when it does, taxpayers make up the losses.
It’s kind of unfair, you have to compete against the government, which is losing all this money. Yeah. It’s not a great scenario, but what can we do? Really? What can we do? [Swoosh] I hope you learned something from these videos. If you do and you’d like to help us make more,
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