2 ms·

I haven't shared your experience with efficient civil service. In the US, everything without market pressure fills with bloat.

• vanderZwan 13y ago
  In terms of customer interaction it's obviously a terrible experience, even when you do meet helpful people. But have you actually gone through a process where the civil service was more expensive than the market alternative? By and large, the empirical data does not support the public perception of government (and remember there are many layers of "government") being hugely wasteful, especially when looking at money wasted on administration compared to the market. http://www.governmentisgood.com/articles.php?aid=20 http://www.governmentisgood.com/articles.php?aid=20 Also, the government is under a market pressure of a sort: can I "sell" this budget to the people who have to vote for me as a politician? EDIT: Of course, I'm not saying that civil service is good by definition - just that when done right there are places where it's a much better solution than a free market one. Also, corruption can be an issue of course - as I understand one of the big reasons Greece is in trouble is because of the corrupt civil service, which caused it to bloat as well.
  • mathattack 13y ago
    Catholic schools generally get by on less money per puli than public. State run liquor stores are more expensive than private. Even still, it's hard to be more expensive when your cost of capital is near zero. (Taxpayers foot the bill)
    • vanderZwan 13y ago
      > State run liquor stores are more expensive than private. You mean the liquor stores in countries where liquor is extra heavily taxed in an attempt to curb alcoholism? Yeah, no. In fact, that that is exactly what I mean: you are confusing cost-to-the-consumer with cost-to-run.