Government is designed to serve the people.

I think this is a misnomer.
Private companies will only indulge in projects that increase their profit margins. This is not always in the best interest of the public.
Governmental agencies can become bloated without effective oversight. This also is not in the best interest of the public. (abuse of tax monies)
Why can't the government operate programs using similar methods to that of the private sector (a profit margin would benefit the public), with the best interest of the public in mind, that focuses on the many needs a 'healthy' society needs?

The goal of government is to provide for the people. The goal of business is to make money. The old saw that businesses are more efficient than government is not true. It could be, on an individual basis but doesn't need to be. I'm sure there are areas of the government which could become more efficient. I'd rather work towards more efficient government than giving the business to those whose main interest is profit.

when i worked for the social security administration, i knew going in that my job was temporary because jimmy carter had ordered a governmental hiring freeze. yes, a democrat, reducing government, imagine that! but he didn't reduce what government was capable of doing, and it wasn't done for profit. efficiency is one thing, and bottom line is quite another. the current government -- you know, the one whose members complain that its bloated but do not fail to pick up their own paychecks? -- is bloated because of who's in it, not because there shouldn't be so much government. by comparison, private industry, unrestrained, abuses its workers and its customers alike. with fairly elected, honest public servants, government size won't matter as much as government function, and that is how it should be. vote blue in november, all the way up and down the ticket -- yes, the dogcatcher too!

g

What you have heard is a nearly century long propoganda war against institutions like government and unions. There is nothing more the wealthy elite, who make their fortunes off the misery of the rest of us, fear than all of us recognizing their theivery and banding against them to stop it.

Profit and greed get in the way.

Privatization of public services is usually an attempt by those in power to pay off their cronies. Government services may be operated in a businesslike manner, but they are not business entities. They do not need to return a monetary gain and often operate as losses to provide for they public good those things that do not lend themselves to a profit motive. In WW2 contractors provided material support. Now contractors even engage the enemy. We are in endless war because someone has found it profitable to supply the war services. The federal prison system has found a similar business purpose and continues to grow its population of inmates. Healthcare is going through the same transition. What could be next for privatization? How about managing elections or disaster relief?

There is a reason you send packages via FEDEX and UPS instead of US mail.There is a reason the gov. isn't very good at running things.