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Comment by heyflyguy | Hacker News Reader

In the most altruistic sense, I would love to believe you. Things like the VA, the FAA, the USPS all point me to Milton Friedman's 4th quadrant of spending money. Quality does not equal efficiency or price.

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Maybe the US has been intentionally hampering its privatisable services to make the case for privatisation?

I don't understand the problem with the FAA but the VA and USPS have been deliberately sabotaged in the past to "prove" the political end you state in your post.

The FAA is often at odds with the NTSB about how to keep aviation safe. The streamed hearing of the inquiry into the crash that killed Kobe Bryant is a rare example of that entering the public arena.

On the other hand, commercial aviation has become unprecedently safe, so it is not like the FAA is making a mess of things in general. Nevertheless, the 737 Max debacle has revealed an unhealthy level of regulatory capture.

Who do you think is more efficient in terms of utilizing resources, Amazon delivery or USPS, a private hospital vs a public one /VA? There is no reason what so ever to strive to cut waste, as bureaucrats know they'll be getting paid either way. So in all cases it's always "we need more money" at the taxpayers expense.

Not sure where this notion that government will deliver services in a more efficient ways come from. As the poster above said, there needs to be middle ground.

> Not sure where this notion that government will deliver services in a more efficient ways come from.

All the countries where governments deliver healthcare and it is significantly more efficient than the US system?

Canada is entirely private beyond the govt providing the funding with the exception of a few public hospitals (like the US many are privately owned non-profits, academic centers tend to be public).

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