If private enterprise can do a better job than the government, why don't they try?

Question

A lot of people have bought into the idea that private enterprise does everything better than the government. If that were true, then private companies would simply submit bids to run government services such as roads, schools, Social Security, Medicare, the military, etc. But no private company has offered to do that, because they simply cannot deliver these services more efficiently than the government can. For example, private pension funds have much higher administrative costs than Social Security, and private health insurance has much higher administrative costs than Medicare. So no private companies could possibly take over these functions and provide the same level of benefits to the same number of people. Some private schools do a great job, but I have never heard of a private company that offered to take over an entire school district and educate all of the children in it.

Answer 1

I'm not sure they can do a better job. Look at what

happened with health insurance - 45 million Americans

are going without it simply because they can't afford it.

Answer 2

First of all, politicians desire one thing above all else: to stay in power. It doesn't matter if they are Republican or Democrat. Most political schemes are implemented to buy votes. That's why the politicians won't let go of programs like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, etc. They use them to buy votes.



As for the answer someone posted and said 45 million Americans are without healthcare because they can't afford it, thank your politicians for that. Healthcare is NOT a right. Politicians have forced businesses to offer it, whether the businesses can afford to or not. Businesses should not be forced to offer healthcare. Because businesses ARE forced to offer it, insurance companies know they can price their policies at higher than reasonable levels. Why? Because businesses don't have the option of going without it. Yes, there is a small price war between insurance companies, but imagine what kind of competition there would be if businesses could choose to go without it at all. The competition would be fierce and prices would drop significantly. It's the same with your car insurance. By law, you HAVE to have it, so you end up paying more than you should for your auto insurance. I think premiums for both healthcare and auto insurance are ridiculously high.



Privatizing government services would promote a competitive marketplace. Competitive marketplace = lower prices for goods and services. Once the goverment gets it's out-of-touch-with-reality hands on goods and services, prices go up and quality of service goes down.



Eventually our country will have all of its services and goods controlled by the goverment. We will no longer be a constitutional republic (yes, we're a republic, NOT a democracy). We will be a communist state, and history has shown us what happens to countries who have communist goverments.



Stop looking to the goverment to take care of you. You are an individual, not an anonymous statistic of a community. YOU take care of you.

Answer 3

where private enterprise has been allowed to replace government entities they have had a remarkable success rate. Take a look at the New York school system. Before it was taken over by Edison it was a mess.

Answer 4

We have been trying to privatize social security but the politicians will not let go of their petty cash box, Private school produce educated children, toll roads are in better condition than state roads, I can understand the military staying government, but the rest of your theory is so full of holes I could drive a truck through them.

Answer 5

For those non-income businesses that are concentrated on reliable works, including social centers vendors for the disabled, rehabilitative centers, and so on., lots of their investment comes from government companies. Non-revenue are generally formed the place a desire exists, yet there is little or no possibility for income. normally a quite altruistic person varieties the non-income and employs others who're prepared to settle for much less in pay in replace for the prospect to do what they suspect to be significant artwork for individuals in desire. those circumstances have a tendency to income from a central authority that's limited interior the scale they are prepared to be interior government, yet prepared to tax electorate adequate to settlement for social centers from non-income communities. the two severe could be worse for non-revenue, the two being usurped via government companies themselves, or starved of necessary supplies contained in one in each of those contracts from bare bones government budget philosophy.

Answer 6

Because private enterprise already owns the government and is happy with the performance levels.

Answer 7

No way they are already in charge. Who do you thinks bribes the politicians?