Re:Public and private sector efficiency
by programmarchy on Saturday December 13, 2014 @07:15PM
(#8747004)
That seems a bit idealistic. Is the War on Drugs serving the interest of the entire country? How about the War on Terror? Of course not.
Nothing democratic is ever serving "the interest of the entire country", if such a thing even exists. If it was, then why would such a thing ever need to be voted upon?
That the government operates in the interest of citizens is only what we say the government ought to do, which is not actually what it does. On the contrary, there are greater incentives for the government to operate primarily in its own interest, to increase the scope and magnitude of its power, which as can be easily observed, is what it has been doing.
Sure, but if you're this cynical you could also make a strong argument [1] that companies work, or fail to work, to improve the life/goals of the managers of the company. Shareholders and employees get screwed on a regular basis.
No private company even pretends to be serving "the market" either. That's the beauty of it, in theory. Nobody in the private sector is working "for" the private sector. And yet (in theory) it works.
Re:Public and private sector efficiency
by icebraining on Saturday December 13, 2014 @07:12PM
(#8746997)
Operating at a loss (profitability) is a different concept from efficiency. Efficiency is how much you get for every dollar spent, regardless of whether it comes from "profits" or subsidies.
If for example some bus company operates at a loss and receives public subsidies, it's because it can allow people who can't afford gas to go to a job, which is a net gain for the country as a whole.
While it's true that the democratic process is not always working very well, it's the reason why the public sector is not always efficient. But it's much better than an autocratic system. Democracy is just the least worst system there is.
A company has only inputs and outputs for the sake of check and balances, accounting's only role is to make sure it belongs in a sound economic logic, while a government is a single monolithic machine, often interacting with companies, but for the interest of the citizens.
(I did not invent all of that I heard chomsky talk about "operating at a loss".)