I could go on (and on) but the point is that it is simply wrong to blithely assume that the profit motive leads necessarily to better consumer quality, service or price.

You could go on and on, and eventually you’d find an example which is not arguable. :-)

The profit motive most often does lead to better quality, service, and price. The relevant variable, which was demonstrated by Dr. Stigliz in the work leading to his Nobel Prize, is consumer information. Free market controls work well in noncomplex areas where consumers can be well educated on their options; not so well in areas which suffer with transparency.

The fact remains that NN was a solution to a problem we didn’t have. Now, MIGHT we have it in the future? Possibly, and at that time, we can revisit. But in the meantime, let’s not fix things that aren’t broken.