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Pastimes : THE SLIGHTLY MODERATED BOXING RING -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Neocon who wrote (11925)	5/3/2002 3:37:39 PM
From: Solon	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 21057

"and some things might better be contracted out" No. Public service is never better contracted out as it adds a profit motivated middleman which increases the cost of delivery. Once something has been identified as a non profit public service (such as public education or the sheriff's department), then placing the service beneath an additional management team which requires profit is contra-indicated. Government is always in direct competition with claims from private service of greater efficiency, and so forth. This competitiveness is all part of supply and demand. "Thus, one can have the best educated work force, and have everyone be personally busy and responsible, and yet have the organization lag in efficiency, productivity, and even elementary usefulness" This happens all the time in the private sector. The end result is often bankruptcy. It can happen in public agencies as well until corrective elements of democracy and supply and demand intervene. It is commonplace for private sector workers to vote stock options and what not and get filthy rich beore their unproductive companies go bankrupt. Public employees have greater restrictions and less flexibility to get away with unproductive or criminal activities. Indeed, there are many public agencies set up SPECIFICALLY to protect trhe public from abuse and crooked dealings from private companies. The Securities and Exchange Commission is only one of a profusion of examples. If it were not for these public agencies, private companies would be even more unproductive in terms of delivered value. Most reasonable people understand the necessary marriage of public and private commerce, and do not need to be small-minded or insulting toward either sector.