No it does not. An easy example to see is public medicine that treats poor people. You can't squeeze blood from a stone, but a healthy population is overall hap

No it does not. An easy example to see is public medicine that treats poor people. You can't squeeze blood from a stone, but a healthy population is overall happier and able to do things. However, it doesn't make money directly for anyone. Since the 1970s, the popular ideology of the ruling class is that government has to work like a buisness, and is a facet of "neoliberalism" -- the idea that markets are the best tool for every situation despite the numerous problems with them. In the US, the idea is to disdain public services unless they can be used to socialize a cost of doing business. The USPS has been allowed to function because it made shipping cheaper, which is the lifeblood of business. However, other political calculations are coming to the fore (such as international competition) so they are thinking of kneecapping cheap rates to China.