The government needs to show the citizens that they can run a federal program efficiently before expecting us to let them handle our healthcare. Link To Article
Unless they come up with a way to heal ailments and illnesses over the interwebz, then I don't think this connection can be made.
Really? Can you provide some examples of a government-run program being more efficient than a private program?
I don't think the post office is a good comparison. For the most part, it's been semi-private and it's always been a hell of a deal to be able to send a piece of mail from Seattle to Miami for $.44 (and it was a lot less for years). Now people are using email and other electronic means to send much of what used to be mail, so the post office is hurting from that. I don't feel the government is good at much but writing checks. The GI bill and VHA loan programs are among the best government has ever undertaken. I think nationalized health care would be more like the DMV. And oddly, those who like big government have a good time at the DMV like it's a party or something.
Hey, I'm not a huge fan of government run health care. I'm just saying I think the reason the USPS is failing is because the only real use for regular mail nowadays is to send packages, something that UPS and FedEx specialize in. There's no need for regular mail anymore.
This is the point. FedEx and UPS can provide the same service as USPS, for cheaper, and still make a profit. I want to see the government do something the private industry provides, but more efficiently and cheaper. So far they haven't done it, but they claim they can do it for healthcare.
The Postal Service is semi-private as Denny mentioned. This is a poor example. And postal service is completely separate from health care. That's like me saying the government does a great job of ordering tanks so they'd be awesome at ordering MRIs.
Can you provide some examples of a government-run program being more efficient than a private program?
Link? Speaking only for myself, I haven't been to the DMV since 2003. Looks like I'll have to go in again in 2011. barfo
My post was about the Post Office being a bad example. I could take a look for examples if you'd like and see what it looks like out there. But I'd also like to see a health care plan that isn't so focused on profit it overlooks health, even at the cost of some efficiency. I don't think that's too much to ask, is it?
It'll probably be more like this [video=youtube;u8yoSAiwY18]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8yoSAiwY18&NR=1[/video]
This does point out something about government. The government doesn't like to spend less or reduce services. If we spent 10 zillion dollars on healthcare and someone discovered a magic super pill that kept anyone from ever getting sick again they would want to keep spending 10 zillion dollars on it.
You already have: The USPS has no peer in the world, gets no tax dollars, and has been pretty much self-sufficient since it's inception as the Postal Department in 1775 with Benjamin Franklin as the first Postmaster General with a few small exceptions such as during war years and the depression. As with the rest of the world's public and private entities it has struggled in 2007 and 2008. http://www.usps.com/postalhistory/_pdf/PiecesofMail1789to2008.pdf This "standby time" is mostly a ploy by management to influence labor negotiations coming up, and part of the ongoing scheme by Republicans (first Reagan, then Bush Jr.) to dismantle (privatize) the USPS.
They can't even come close. Carry your letter coast to coast for 44 cents? Deliver your company's ad flyers door to door for a few pennies each? They put the USPS at a disadvantage comparison-wise by only doing the high-profit part of the job while not providing the main part of the service and the whole reason the USPS exists. To ensure citizens can communicate unhampered.
Oddly enough, the story says that the government would like to spend less but is prevented from laying the extra staff off by the union contract (which, admittedly, they signed). The postal service is in fact lobbying to be allowed to reduce services (to 5 days per week). So, I'm not sure this example agrees with your conclusions. barfo
