Government vs Private Efficiency

The cluster debates whether governments or private companies are more efficient and effective at providing services, infrastructure, and projects, with arguments on waste, profit motives, transparency, and failure mechanisms.

➡️ Stable 0.6x Politics & Society
3,481
Comments
20
Years Active
5
Top Authors
#8391
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Activity Over Time

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Keywords

US LLC MORE ycombinator.com DMCA government private private company private companies money companies governments profit resource dmca

Sample Comments

trentnix Mar 27, 2024 View on HN

Government can do what it wants, and at a perpetual loss. At least the private company has to make ends meet.

AnIdiotOnTheNet Mar 29, 2023 View on HN

Gee, its almost like a private company is a useless middleman in cases like this and the government should just do it themselves.

jstalin Feb 20, 2013 View on HN

This assumes that the government is better at it than private industry.

t0bia_s Nov 6, 2023 View on HN

Except government buy those stuffs for your money and don't ask you, if you agree. Imagine that in private sector - that company would not exist.

elmar Aug 15, 2017 View on HN

probably the money is more wisely spent by the private institution than the government.

crankylinuxuser Jul 18, 2018 View on HN

The problems with governments (notice the plural) is that their activities and expenditures are not public and transparent. Having how the money is flowing, and for what and to whom would clear this up tremendously.And frankly, when companies get their hands into it, they are going to extract profit from it. Government isnt bound by shareholders or profit-seeking behavior. Doing things at cost is not only acceptable, but expected.There's times and places where governments providing th

barney54 Oct 28, 2013 View on HN

You are misrepresenting the R's position. It's not that government can do nothing right, it's that government does things less efficiently than private enterprise.

chillacy Mar 14, 2017 View on HN

A lot of private companies stand to profit for things which were done by the government. In the US for instance we pay Intuit for tax prep software, private prisons to run detention centers, and insurance companies for healthcare.

pc86 Aug 9, 2013 View on HN

The idea that it's easier for a private entity to abuse a system like this than a government is laughable.

triceratops Mar 1, 2023 View on HN

Why would we spend government money on a problem that private money is capable of fixing?