[enraged_camel]

You would do well to start questioning the idea that the private sector does anything "better". After all, it was them that gave us Enron, Deepwater Horizon, and most recently, the subprime mortgage crisis, which brought the entire world economy to its knees. Those are only a few examples that spring to mind.

In addition, comparing the government with the private sector is pretty silly. They have different goals. Private companies try to maximize profit, even if it comes with massive externalities (which, barring regulations, they happily pass on to others). Governments aim to serve their citizens, even if it comes at the expense of efficiency. This means that any given problem will be handled very differently by the private sector compared to the government. The route we pick really depends on our priorities as a society.

[refurb]

After all, it was them that gave us Enron, Deepwater Horizon, and most recently, the subprime mortgage crisis, which brought the entire world economy to its knees.

That's a pretty poor argument if you line it up against gov't waste, incompetence and corruption.

[enraged_camel]

Can you provide any arguments (or, even better, empirical evidence) as to why the government has more waste, incompetence and corruption than the private sector?

[refurb]

I'm not arguing one is better than the other. Just that both system are run by humans so I wouldn't say you'd have less corruption or waste in one or the other.

[toomuchtodo]

I can vote out government representatives; I cannot vote out unregulated companies doing damage in a marketplace.

Government provided services provide the opportunity for total transparency; this is not the case in the private sector.

EDIT: @refurb: You're confusing a free market with what the United States has. A free market it ain't (especially regarding healthcare).

[refurb]

In a free market you can chose to go with another company.

[FullMtlAlcoholc]

Provide me with an example of a fully functioning free market completely devoid if any government regulation or involvement?

If one doesn't exist, I wouldn't like our system to move into that direction based upon wild speculation and pure theory. The implicit assumption in free market models is that people are rational agents, when all research shows that people are highly irrational.

Wouldn't you like see evidence of how a free market would function on the scale of the United States? Like a scientist, not like a religious zealot?

[SAI_Peregrinus]

In a "freely competitive market" (to use Adam Smith's original phrase) you can. In a market without that competition you can't. Sadly many markets in practice don't have free competition.

[deepnotderp]

Do you get to choose your isp? What about your crude oil? Do you know where it originated?

[enraged_camel]

Well, yeah, we aren't really disagreeing then.

[r00fus]

I'll take it and democratic representation over corporate waste, incompetence and corruption.

In fact, the reason government sucks right now is that corporations/wealthy have rigged the game by buying representation average citizens can't compete with (legalized corruption = lobbying).