That Conservative Whine

The classic claim of fiscal conservatives is that private corporations are more efficient than government. So setting aside the fact that I think several aspects of society should not be run for profit i.e. education, health care, insurance, I still take exception to the claim. A recent two part story from NPR touches on topic. Surprise (if you have had your head up your ass for the last 8 years), there has been a sharp increase in no-bid contracts. How the hell are no-bid contracts market based? this exposes these people for what they really are, greedy. Interestingly, the story also discovers that

"industry shouldn't collect the nation's taxes; public servants should do that crucial job. And the IRS's own calculations even show that government employees are more efficient: for every dollar spent trying to collect taxes, government workers collect three times as much as the collection companies do."

Surprise, government beats industry three to one! And they do a more professional job. Don't get me wrong, I don't think government should do everything. The claim that companies are better just sticks in my craw. Looking at the corporations I see them suffering from many of the same ailments (bureaucracy, corruption, etc...) as those alleged against the government. Finally, there is limited to no accountability with private contractors. Think Halliburton and Blackwater...