Comment by whowhatwhy
7 years ago
a company is accountable for the dollars you pay to it, and has to provide a commensurate value, or you take your business elsewhere. dollars paid to the government keep coming in no matter how wasteful their practices
That's not how people choose which health insurance policy is offered by their employer, or which private company won the contract to deliver their electricity.
You're right, at least in the case of highly regulated markets and when the state creates artificial monopolies (e.g. electricity).
I'll correct my original comment then:
At least private companies that compete in a relatively free market are losing their own earned money when they're inefficient, not someone else's.
That claim assumes a free market with perfect information, which is more than even Adam Smith was willing to do.
It’s still not right.
Private companies are losing money on behalf of their owners or shareholders.
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Those are some of the most regulated industries in existence. Those companies are "private" in the sense that private individuals reap profits, but their funding is secured by proxy through force (legislation/forceful-taxation).
Move to a location with multiple electricity providers. They exist all over.
If you don’t like your employer healthcare, quit and find another or buy it on your own. There is choice there and you just don’t like it.
I think you’ve confused a discussion about how individuals make choices about their purchases for a complaint about the results of my personal choices?