Can anyone name a single time when "privatization" actually made things less expensive?

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Can anyone name a single time when "privatization" actually made things less expensive?

The cost of expanding private care is hard to predict, but VA officials have told Congress and veterans groups that it will range from $13.9 billion to $32.1 billion over five years, the four people said. Since the administration opposes lifting overall government spending, Democrats say the increased cost of private care will come at the expense of the VA’s own health system. Some lawmakers said the administration’s plan defies the purpose of the law they passed.
https://m.govexec.com/management/2018/11/trump-administration-plots-costly-private-care-expansion-veterans/152886/

Comments

John Bump said…
I think deregulation made airlines less expensive for consumers, although that comes with a lot of provisos. However, in general, when you privatize government functions, which in the US are almost all functions that people can't actually choose to live without, you end up with a situation where someone is trying to make a profit off a service people need. The two ways to do that are to get people to pay for the service and then deny them access to it (as in insurance refusing to cover certain conditions), or to charge them more than the service costs. Neither of those helps the public good.
November 25, 2018 at 9:08 PM
Olaf Fichtner said…
It also depends on what gets privatised: Air travel is nice, but it is not a basic need. Water is, as are food, living space and medical care. Especially medical care is profitable, because people don't have many choices. They may sit out a cold, but for many other problems it's either pay or die...

I should also mention education. IMHO it can not be adequately provided if profits are required.
November 25, 2018 at 9:47 PM
Jason ON said…
Let's be clear here for a moment: air travel was never "public." It may have been regulated, but it was never a public service.
November 26, 2018 at 4:27 PM
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