[kromem]

I'll answer, though not OP.

Medicare is a pretty good example. As best I'm aware, that program's negotiated rate is less than the average private insurer for any given procedure, which is pretty impressive.

Public broadcasting tends to do quite a lot on a continually reduced budget.

There are a number of programs that are generally inefficient, and while I'd very much like to see greater efficiency, I'd also be very much ok seeing those existing programs have more money: education, infrastructure, Medicaid.

And I feel like most people who malign the government's inefficiency have either never been exposed to the inefficiencies in the private sector, or willfully turn a blind eye to those inefficiencies to make a point. In my experience, all large organizations/projects suffer from an incredible amount of waste - the government is just the poor jerk that deals with some of the largest possible organizations/projects and then has publish that inefficiency for everyone to point at and critique.

[kevin_thibedeau]

> negotiated rate is less than the average private insurer for any given procedure, which is pretty impressive

Not very impressive considering the average prices everybody else pays are artificially inflated by collusion among the medical industry middlemen. That's how we end up with $500 Epipens and then get a "steal" of a discount for only $300.