Privatization Of Government Services

[Sojourner]

[quote name='Staretz' post='1256880' date='Apr 26 2007, 12:52 PM']Depends on the service, maybe? Alberta has privatised licencing and land titles info. That seems to be working out well for them. Or at least it was in the late 90's when I lived in Calgary. You could walk into anyone of a couple dozen places in Calgary and ask for a title search on a given address. Then pay a fee and boom you have your results.vb

btw, its scary what you can find on a title search![/quote]
Our title services are privatized as well, I believe. At least they were in Indiana; don't know for certain if that's the case in other states.

My main concern is the issue of providing services to vulnerable populations: prisoners, the poor, etc., and selling those to for-profit ventures, for reasons I've enumerated above.


And Joey-O ... you might be onto something, but I need to give it some thought. I do agree with the concept of spreading the weight of service provision. Which I've argued before in welfare debates here (which I don't want this to turn into, btw).

[journeyman]

What is the underlying premise of the question? Should services presently offered by governments be offered by private enterprise? The unasked question is was that service a fit one for government monopolization in the first place?

Where did the concept of libraries begin? Private sector.
Where did the concept of public education begin? One room school house formed by the residents, not the local governnment.
Where did the concept of public utilities begin? Private sector.
Where did the concept of public transportation begin? Private sector.
Where did the concept of public welfare begin? Private sector, specifically, the churches.
Where did the concept of public fire department begin. Volunteer fire and rescue squads (well, that's what we call them today)


If the question is posed in terms of "what is the aim of government? what services must government offer in order to meet those aims?" then the list of services that must be offered grows shorter. With a shorter list of "must do" items, the government's burden (tax) on the citizen also grows less.



Is life so sweet, or peace so dear, to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God!
(Patrick Henry -- Speech in the Virginia Convention, March, 1775)

[Sojourner]

yes, but there are reasons that these services moved into the public sector

In each of those cases, there is a recognition that there is a public benefit that arises from consistent provision of service. And there is a recognition that for services that we all benefit from, we should all equitably contribute.

[journeyman]

Are the services provided consistently? Are consistent services provided universally? Or are there sections/neighborhoods that always seem to get the short end of the stick?


public utility service - through regulation, government obtains the universal service without having to provide the service itself . . . are we happy with the electric and telephone company . . . not always . . . but, the costs of entry are so high, that regulated monopolies appears to be the answer

In some localities, the local government owns and operates the utility - more so with water and sewer than with electric or telephone today . . . at least here in Virginia . . . but other than because they have done so for 50 years, why should they?

[Sojourner]

[quote name='journeyman' post='1259324' date='Apr 28 2007, 09:42 PM']Are the services provided consistently? Are consistent services provided universally? Or are there sections/neighborhoods that always seem to get the short end of the stick?
public utility service - through regulation, government obtains the universal service without having to provide the service itself . . . are we happy with the electric and telephone company . . . not always . . . but, the costs of entry are so high, that regulated monopolies appears to be the answer

In some localities, the local government owns and operates the utility - more so with water and sewer than with electric or telephone today . . . at least here in Virginia . . . but other than because they have done so for 50 years, why should they?[/quote]
It of course depends on the service.

Of course nothing is provided universally or entirely consistently, but we're talking degrees. And who's to say that private companies would do it better? Business is focused on the bottom line, which does not necessarily mean on the best interests of its customers.

As far as utilities ... I know that utilities are sometimes gov't run and sometimes private and sometimes a public-private partnership (once I got a brochure touting a public-private partnership only they left out the "l" ).

I think there can be a place for private business to have a place in providing public services, but I really think that there are ethical and moral issues with administering programs aimed at serving vulnerable populations. (And I do think that welfare administration belongs with the state rather than with private organizations ... there's a whole thread on this very topic from a couple years ago.)