| Kasz216 said:
You called something laughable that actually does happen and works fine. |
Main Point:
The reason the private market is more efficient than the government in many areas is because of competition and the incentives it creates. When you let a private company operate a monopoly where the government has to tell them what to charge and what quality of good to produce, you destroy every advantage the free market has, and the only thing you pick up is the income of the new owners and investors.
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It doesnt work fine.
I can think of many instances around the world where there have been massive riots over a private company taking control of water utilities, greatly increasing prices and the government having to take back control of the water. The Cochabamba Water Wars is a good example.
Of course, there wouldnt be a situation in America where the military would have to be called in, but private water companies are still less efficient than publicly owned systems. Which makes sense, considering that the government has to tell the water company how much they can charge and what the quality of water must be (the same thing a public system would do), but the private company has private owners and investors that are looking for a profit whereas the city government is not.
When a private company was able to buy the public water company in my town, the first thing they did was increase the price of water by 25%. I cant say I blame them, thats the way the free market works, but I'd rather spend that money on other things than just handing it to some owner or investor.
