> Regional competition for services which require expensive infrastructure is non-existent once the first player has entered the market.
This is just as true when the first player is a local (or State) government as when it's a private company.
> Quality is the exact reason why something like transportation is handled by local governments, as opposed to letting private toll roads dominate the market, which have no incentive to patch pot holes when it's the only option available.
Local governments often don't do a good job of patching potholes either. (Nor do State governments, which often own major highways.)
Not so. Public sector monopolies are not aligned with profit-hungry shareholders, board of investors, executives looking for bonuses, etc. Instead public sector monopolies are aligned with quality, and making enough revenue to break even.
And don't cherry pick some individual poorer counties for road performance, even though on a whole they are better. I could cherry pick Somalia as an example of privately maintained transportation monopolies.
This is just as true when the first player is a local (or State) government as when it's a private company.
> Quality is the exact reason why something like transportation is handled by local governments, as opposed to letting private toll roads dominate the market, which have no incentive to patch pot holes when it's the only option available.
Local governments often don't do a good job of patching potholes either. (Nor do State governments, which often own major highways.)