[Edit: enraged_camel said that the VA is pretty good. Is that accurate? I've heard otherwise, but I don't know firsthand. If the VA example isn't accurate, though, replace it with "California high speed rail" or "Amtrak" or "the Department of Education".]
It doesn't have to mean incompetent and inefficient, but it seems that it often does.
People love to act as though government can’t do anything right. Government does plenty of things right, those just don’t get much attention.
I sit here next to my government road with government postal service, lights powered by a private utility heavily regulated by the government, and wish the government provided trash service to me like they do for my neighbor because I’m getting fed up with the shoddy trash service I get from the company I pay, and think, yeah, government health care could be pretty good, just like it is in so many other countries. The US is not uniquely incompetent here.
Along the Northeast corridor, taking Amtrak downtown-to-downtown takes about as long as flying and is vastly more pleasant. The service out west is bad because it's a gongshow of interactions between Amtrak and a bunch of private companies, which seems...oddly reminiscent of something.
My only direct experience with the Department of Education was college financial aid. The FAFSA wasn't particularly awful and I appreciate the help I got--the work study job not only paid for my books and food, but got me started in my career.
Comments
Maybe we could. Or maybe we'd run it like the VA.
[Edit: enraged_camel said that the VA is pretty good. Is that accurate? I've heard otherwise, but I don't know firsthand. If the VA example isn't accurate, though, replace it with "California high speed rail" or "Amtrak" or "the Department of Education".]
It doesn't have to mean incompetent and inefficient, but it seems that it often does.
How often?
People love to act as though government can’t do anything right. Government does plenty of things right, those just don’t get much attention.
I sit here next to my government road with government postal service, lights powered by a private utility heavily regulated by the government, and wish the government provided trash service to me like they do for my neighbor because I’m getting fed up with the shoddy trash service I get from the company I pay, and think, yeah, government health care could be pretty good, just like it is in so many other countries. The US is not uniquely incompetent here.
That gov’t road was likely built by a private company. And being heavily regulated doesn’t make a private utility a good example.
Fair point.
Along the Northeast corridor, taking Amtrak downtown-to-downtown takes about as long as flying and is vastly more pleasant. The service out west is bad because it's a gongshow of interactions between Amtrak and a bunch of private companies, which seems...oddly reminiscent of something.
My only direct experience with the Department of Education was college financial aid. The FAFSA wasn't particularly awful and I appreciate the help I got--the work study job not only paid for my books and food, but got me started in my career.
Perhaps we could call it "Medicare" and it would be way more efficient than any of the private insurers.