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> A monolithic private institution doesn't inspire confidence in me any more than a monolithic public one. I don't see the purpose in switching one for the othe

> A monolithic private institution doesn't inspire confidence in me any more than a monolithic public one. I don't see the purpose in switching one for the other, and would probably rather see it run by the government. Indeed; this is why almost all "let's privatize X" initiatives are ultimately pointless (or perhaps even counterproductive). They merely shift the monopoly-holder from public-sector to private-sector, without alleviating the "there is a monopoly" status. Indeed, the private sector's legendary efficiency advantage specifically occurs when there is competition, and is not some magical thing that is endowed to the private sector and forbidden from the public sector.

kwhitefoot 9y ago
In some circumstances > the private sector's legendary efficiency advantage is in fact: the private sector's _mythical_ efficiency advantage
- mmirate 9y ago
  Right; my point is that your "some" circumstances are precisely those under which there is no competitive pressure.
  - mmirate 9y ago
    (Which is to say, the private sector very much does have an efficiency advantage when there is a competitive market. Because only then is everyone in that market personally motivated, by the "vice" of greed, to be virtuously efficient. The only exception is what some people call a "monopoly par excellence"; a firm without competitors which nevertheless acts as though it has them.)
usmeteora 9y ago
If even one company came in and wrote software with 1. an API written by a software engineer 2. code written post 1970s that knew how to write a for loop and allocate memory Then we would all be better off....I promise... Its hard for me to...describe how bad it is...
- awshepard 9y ago
  Can you clarify this a little? Have you seen or worked with ATC code? I can believe some of your other comments about poor API specs, old code, aging infrastructure, etc., but I'm curious about your loop and allocation comments. My understanding is mission-critical software often has very strict formal verifications and bounds checking processes it goes through, and one of the techniques in those conditions involves loop unrolling. The absence of loops doesn't (always) mean bad software if it's designed to save lives. Just wanting to understand this particular complaint.

kwhitefoot 9y ago

In some circumstances > the private sector's legendary efficiency advantage is in fact: the private sector's _mythical_ efficiency advantage

mmirate 9y ago
Right; my point is that your "some" circumstances are precisely those under which there is no competitive pressure.
- mmirate 9y ago
  (Which is to say, the private sector very much does have an efficiency advantage when there is a competitive market. Because only then is everyone in that market personally motivated, by the "vice" of greed, to be virtuously efficient. The only exception is what some people call a "monopoly par excellence"; a firm without competitors which nevertheless acts as though it has them.)

usmeteora 9y ago

If even one company came in and wrote software with 1. an API written by a software engineer 2. code written post 1970s that knew how to write a for loop and allocate memory Then we would all be better off....I promise... Its hard for me to...describe how bad it is...

awshepard 9y ago
Can you clarify this a little? Have you seen or worked with ATC code? I can believe some of your other comments about poor API specs, old code, aging infrastructure, etc., but I'm curious about your loop and allocation comments. My understanding is mission-critical software often has very strict formal verifications and bounds checking processes it goes through, and one of the techniques in those conditions involves loop unrolling. The absence of loops doesn't (always) mean bad software if it's designed to save lives. Just wanting to understand this particular complaint.