I own a small local business. We are currently raising money to add ductwork to our AC. We have been soliciting donations in our email newsletter for several weeks. We will probably have to solicit people individually in our classes to meet the goal. We have several small repairs and upgrades that aren't in our budget, so we will need to do this again.
It is more rewarding to do it this way (voluntarily, with students pitching in), but it would be more efficient if we just raised our prices. Either way is valid as far as business goes; for us community is a core value.
I am really glad it's not up to us to install water control structures though. When I vote, what I think I'm doing is delegating my choice about things which I know very little, or am not willing or able to do myself, to someone else. I mean, what does competition and choice look like for water control structures? Maybe I'm dense here, but I think it looks like voting.
I'm talking about local government, which I think was intended to be a form of competition and choice vs the state and federal systems. I'm not so sure it still functions that way, though. There are bright spots.but far too much big government meddling.