Re:Public and private sector efficiency
by TheOtherHobbes on Saturday December 13, 2014 @04:34PM
(#8746526)
That's odd, because the UK experience is that while there's some superficial liberalisation, services stop improving after a while, contempt for customers becomes endemic, a new managerial/rentier class appears to squat on the new economic opportunities, and prices invariably skyrocket.
Privatised utilities? Yep. Energy price inflation has made a huge contribution to keeping the economy stagnant since 2008. Supposedly this is because wholesale prices have increased. But the industry has - for example - closed 'uneconomic' winter gas storage, which now guarantees that the UK has less than a third of the winter reserves of more sensible countries, which makes it more vulnerable to increases in cold weather spot pricing.
Privatised rail? Totally - with the added insult that state subsidies are higher than they were during the days when rail was nationalised, and adjusted ticket prices were less than 10% of what they are now.
Privatised dentistry? Yep. There are ragged remnants of NHS dental care in many places, but it's often impossible for anyone who isn't earning good middle class money to get any dental care at all.
Privatised universities? With a new business-driven ethic, quality and independence of research is disappearing, fees are waiting to explode, students are treated entirely as a cash crop.
Privatised property ownership? Destroying the UK's stock of council-owned rentable property has put average house prices far beyond the reach of anyone on average earnings.
Privatised communications? The US and UK and telecom sectors are legendary for miserably slow broadband roll-out outside of headlining urban areas. The mobile phone service barely works, even in cities. But customers are locked into 18 month contracts, even in areas with little or no signal quality. Broadband has stalled in 'non-economic areas'. Because no one wants to use broadband outside cities.
Airlines? Considering O'Leary's reputation, I'm not sure mentioning Ryanair is really helping your case.
Not only is privatisation irrationally wasteful, it also generates inevitable economic opportunity costs in the form of low wages, zero-hours contracts, and debt instability.
So it's nice that you get mail on Sundays. Most of the UK still doesn't and never will. And when postal prices start creeping up and services are cut the odds of further service improvement are somewhere between none and zero.
Privatised utilities? Yep. Energy price inflation has made a huge contribution to keeping the economy stagnant since 2008. Supposedly this is because wholesale prices have increased. But the industry has - for example - closed 'uneconomic' winter gas storage, which now guarantees that the UK has less than a third of the winter reserves of more sensible countries, which makes it more vulnerable to increases in cold weather spot pricing.
Privatised rail? Totally - with the added insult that state subsidies are higher than they were during the days when rail was nationalised, and adjusted ticket prices were less than 10% of what they are now.
Privatised dentistry? Yep. There are ragged remnants of NHS dental care in many places, but it's often impossible for anyone who isn't earning good middle class money to get any dental care at all.
Privatised universities? With a new business-driven ethic, quality and independence of research is disappearing, fees are waiting to explode, students are treated entirely as a cash crop.
Privatised property ownership? Destroying the UK's stock of council-owned rentable property has put average house prices far beyond the reach of anyone on average earnings.
Privatised communications? The US and UK and telecom sectors are legendary for miserably slow broadband roll-out outside of headlining urban areas. The mobile phone service barely works, even in cities. But customers are locked into 18 month contracts, even in areas with little or no signal quality. Broadband has stalled in 'non-economic areas'. Because no one wants to use broadband outside cities.
Airlines? Considering O'Leary's reputation, I'm not sure mentioning Ryanair is really helping your case.
Not only is privatisation irrationally wasteful, it also generates inevitable economic opportunity costs in the form of low wages, zero-hours contracts, and debt instability.
So it's nice that you get mail on Sundays. Most of the UK still doesn't and never will. And when postal prices start creeping up and services are cut the odds of further service improvement are somewhere between none and zero.