Is the private sector the solution to a public sector problem?
I haven’t been blogging much lately. This is primarily due to the overall heightened state of daily outrage I’ve been walking around in for about the last year and a half. A friend told me this morning that this is a privilege reserved for those of at least 70, but I’m an old soul who has been telling cars to slow down since I was in my 20’s. I can’t live by your outrage privilege rules, man.
I try to touch on issues and perspectives others aren’t addressing and I’ve found those subjects difficult to find lately, but Senator John McCain helped me out this morning. I was watching Fox News while eating my scrambled egg whites (another sign I might be 70) when the Senator suggested—and I paraphrase—that the solution to the Obamacare online system problems was to take a bus to Silicon Valley and load it up with the best and brightest programmers who could quickly fix the problems. Wait a minute; did John McCain just suggest the private sector might me the best solution for a public sector problem?
I have a couple of issues with his suggestion. First, what makes the Senator believe it is permissible to even suggest that the government has the right or ability to compel a group of private sector programmers to come to Washington, D.C. and fix the Obamacare system? Of course when the government pays for your education, they might feel entitled to your services.
Second, if the private sector is “evil”, “greedy”, “inefficient”, facilitating income gaps, or harmful to society in other ways that have been alleged recently, and government is the solution, why do you want them involved in the healthcare.gov system? Of course I realize not all private sector workers fall into this category, some are government contractors who have appropriate union protections and meet other criteria that make them superior. But those aren’t the people you would be subjugating. They would be from large, oppressive, corporate, capitalist organizations that “don’t pay their fair share”. I suppose it is the least they could do for being such a blight on our society.
As for me, I’m hoping they ask Amazon to fix the system. At least subscribers could get some helpful advice on other government programs they might be qualified to apply for:
“Customers Who Bought This Healthcare Plan Also Qualified For…”
Holly A. Bell is an Associate Professor teaching business and economics in the University of Alaska system. She’s also an author, analyst, manager, and blogger who lives in the Mat-Su Valley of Alaska. You can visit her website at www.professorhollybell.com or follow her on Twitter at @HollyBell8