# Why is Privatisation so popular for governments? Is it anymore efficient? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 19, 2014, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-privatisation-so-popular-for-governments-is-it-anymore-efficient/679220 "2014-01-19T19:49:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2014, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-privatisation-so-popular-for-governments-is-it-anymore-efficient/679220/41 "2014-01-22T02:31:37Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > But… \*\*how is this different from a government monopoly? \*\* How is the customer any better off? I’ll answer my own question; they aren’t. The government monopoly is going to behave exactly the same; they’ll jack up prices or reduce services to ensure that the books are balanced. The only difference is that a government monopoly can do it either directly, by charging the user, or indirectly, by simply levying more taxes and subsidizing things, which in a lot of cases is actually much, much worse. Either way, someone’s going to be hopelessly screwed. But in the case of a government monopoly, the people get to vote, campaign and take to the streets to change or tweak that sort of behaviour. Hopefully. OK, maybe not in the US because their political system is FUBAR, but everywhere else we have that option :D. Fat chance of altering a private entity’s course of action. [QUOTE=RickJay] Why would you assume a government monopoly is designed to break even? That is not at all necessarily true; many government monopolies are quite specifically designed to make money. Many state governments have a legal monopoly on gambling, for instance, and make an obscene amount of money off it. [/QUOTE] True, but at other times government monopolies are net money sinks, also by design. Education would be an example (even if it’s not a true monopoly, it’s close enough in many places). ---
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2014, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-privatisation-so-popular-for-governments-is-it-anymore-efficient/679220/42 "2014-01-23T15:03:18Z")
I’d just like to point out most “privatization” of government services is really just transferring of monopoly privilege to private firms who are still controlled by the government through regulation. Any labelling of this as a failure of free markets is either dishonest or uninformed. ---
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2014, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-privatisation-so-popular-for-governments-is-it-anymore-efficient/679220/43 "2014-01-23T15:11:24Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > But in the case of a government monopoly, the people get to vote, campaign and take to the streets to change or tweak that sort of behaviour. Hopefully. OK, maybe not in the US because their political system is FUBAR, but everywhere else we have that option :D. > Fat chance of altering a private entity’s course of action. Say 49% of citizens attempt to change government behavior through political action. Nothing changes. Say 25% of citizens attempt to change a private firm`s behavior through boycott. Drastic changes needed to save firm. Political action is rarely changed over time(we are still in Afghanistan- enough said). Private firm action is altered everyday to adjust to market conditions. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2014, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-privatisation-so-popular-for-governments-is-it-anymore-efficient/679220/44 "2014-01-23T15:22:32Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#): > > Say 49% of citizens attempt to change government behavior through political action. Nothing changes. Nothing? I don’t buy that. Elections, sure, won or lost by the majority. But do you really think that half of the population cannot change government behavior? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-privatisation-so-popular-for-governments-is-it-anymore-efficient/679220.md?page=2)