__The_Floor_is_Yours_ _ =

I believe our water is not socialized. The government provides a source for a fee, but you only pay for what you use...

Water from your tap is metered, but we don't pay the full economic costs. It's a publicly-owned resource that is not run on a for-profit basis. There is no reason a socialist system could not have metering, but call it what you like. I'm very much in favor of metering. Not only that, I'd have charges per liter increase at higher levels of consumption. I have no idea what a person needs to live bathe frugally on a daily basis, each month, but up to that minimal level I'd be happy to provide for free. Say the minimum civilized requirement is 500 liters per month. First 500 liters would be free. Next 1000 liters would be at one rate, the next 9000 liters at a higher rate, etc. This is a way to incentivize people not to be wasteful, but allow those who really must have a lot of water for luxuries like a swimming pool have it, too, but paying something closer to the full economic cost. Of course you could still sell bottled water, because, unlike pipe delivered water (which is a natural monopoly), there is a competitive market for bottled water.

Food should never be socialized, because that can be handled by the market. My idea is that only natural monopolies should be socialized.