Private enterprises or government run industries? Which is better?

Private enterprises or government run industries? Which is better?
I have just arrived in Panama and my article was going to be about some subject related to Panama.
Since I picked up a copy of the New York Times in the airport and the health care debate is going on, I decided to make a comment or two about this very important subject.
Even though it has more relevance for those in the United States, we should keep an eye on it, here in Puerto Rico. Let’s face it, what Uncle Sam does, affects all of us one way or another.
As many of you know, I am a free enterprise type of guy; I trust the private sector more so than government agencies. Not always, but most of the time, the private sector does it better.
For example, the U.S. Post Service started in 1775 if I am not mistaken. They have had 234 years to get it right and yet, even though it is heavily subsidized, it is still broke. It can’t compete effectively with Federal Express or UPS, both of them corporations competing in the free enterprise arena and profitable most of the time.
Many of you are already enjoying the benefits of social security. Lots of you are counting on social security as part of your retirement. How sure are you that they will be around when you do retire? They have already increased the age at which you qualify and they will probably increase it again or cut benefits. And what is very sad is that you paid it religiously for your whole life and now you have to face the possibility that it will not be there when you retire. Social Security was established in 1935, so 74 years have gone by and they haven’t gotten it right. It is for all intents and purposes, broke. Chile, on the other hand, has a very good social security system and it might be worth taking a look at it. Something has to be done and I trust, hope is a better word, that it won’t go down the drain.
Fannie Mae was started in 1938, so they have had 71 years to get it right and lo and behold, it is broke. Little brother Freddie Mac came around much later, in 1970 but still, 39 years have passed and guess what? It is also broke. Together dear Fannie and Freddie helped sink the US and the rest of the world into the worst economic collapse in 80 years.
A friend of mine was telling me that the war on poverty officially started in 1964; they have had 45 years to get it right. He says that even though one trillion dollars of hard earned money by taxpayers in the US is transferred each year to the “poor” and yet we don’t see the results.
Medicare and Medicaid are very interesting. Lots of people swear by them and say that they have been well served by them. I have always relied on private insurance and I am not old enough to qualify for Medicare or not poor enough to qualify for Medicaid, so I don’t know if it works well. However, realistically, since 1965 when they started, they have lost massive amounts of money. They are in the red big time. Are they the right model of US health care? How long can they go own running those big deficits and not having the ability to stop corruption and throw the guilty ones in jail?
AMTRAK began in 1970 and last year, they get bailed out because they run at a loss, a big loss.
This year, we all know that a trillion dollars was committed in the so called Stimulus Bill of 2009. Is it working? I honestly can’t tell although I confess that I am not an economist. I don’t see many signs that it has worked like it should. The size of governments across the US has increased in many areas and there have been reports that government salaries have also gone up. Read the Miami Herald and you will see that people are up in arms because many local government employees were given huge raises as political favors.
My question is: How many private sector jobs has the bill created? I don’t think it has created many if any at all. The US national debt is increasing at a very dangerous rate. It might reach 10 trillion if it hasn’t reached it yet.
I have to mention the “cash for clunkers” program that started a few months ago and ended just recently. It ran out of money rather quickly. Most of the cars sold were foreign cars and lots of dealers and now buried under the bureaucracy, trying to fill in all kinds of paperwork and many of them have not even gotten paid yet.
Looking at these examples, seeing a record of failure that is rather clear, how can we trust the government to run a massive health care system? We are talking about 17% of the economy!
Maybe they can. I don’t have any evidence that they can do so, but who knows if they can do it or not? I wouldn’t place a bet on it, though. Let’s face it, even a broken clock can give you the right time twice a day.
I am a big fan of Thomas Jefferson. It is such a shame that he is not around anymore.
He said “I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretence of taking care of them”.
I believe in private enterprise, I believe in people that open a business and work hard to make it successful. They are not looking for handouts. They are simply asking for the government not to interfere and let them serve the public like they know how to do.