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42 sats \ 3 replies \ @0xbitcoiner OP 11 Nov \ parent \ on: America’s 2.1 Million Federal Workers charts_and_numbers
I suppose that's technically true, but only because they've crowded out or criminalized private provision.

I'm not sure I got that right. Are you saying it's forbidden to outsource to private companies for these departments? Do they all have to be public servants?

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53 sats \ 2 replies \ @Undisciplined 11 Nov

In some cases, yes, it is illegal to compete directly with a state agency. The Post Office is a fairly trivial example: it's illegal for UPS or FedEx to carry letters. Air traffic control is another example.

In other cases, the issue is that the state effectively floods the sector and leaves no room for a private alternative to be profitable. Research and adjudication are both examples of this: there is some private sector activity in those areas but the vast majority of it is funded through the state.

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42 sats \ 1 reply \ @Bell_curve 11 Nov

Air traffic control can be 'privatized' like Canada, France, Germany or Switzerland

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12 sats \ 0 replies \ @Undisciplined 11 Nov

Everything that has real market demand can be privatized.

My point is that state bureaucrats only provide that service because they don't allow anyone else to.

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