I agree that state-run doesn't have to be bad. But man, at least the examples I've seen in North America, the probability of state-run being mediocre is really

I agree that state-run doesn't have to be bad. But man, at least the examples I've seen in North America, the probability of state-run being mediocre is really high. What seems to be true is the more local it is, the better run it is. Running something at the national level is pretty much a guaranteed that some soft-middle will be forced on everyone.