"I bet if we were to perform some simple reforms of the federal workforce that the calls for privatization would cease." They would not. The calls certainly us

"I bet if we were to perform some simple reforms of the federal workforce that the calls for privatization would cease." They would not. The calls certainly use any dissatisfaction with government services, but they originate from a desire to profit off the resulting privatisation. If there was no dissatisfaction, the calls would be coached in ideological grounds ("government should not be picking winners and losers"..), or the relevant departments would get underfunded until dissatisfaction reappears ("get it down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub."). Note how rarely, when a market fails (telecoms, banks...), are calls for nationalisation heeded, while the opposite does not hold.