Some political candidates are telling us that health care has become so sophisticated and expensive, that most governments cannot afford to provide all the services many people expect. The political response: privatize services. Besides paying our taxes, we will now have to pay extra fees for services. And health is only one of multiple services some governments – like our own CAQ – are promising to convert to private-payer systems.
The advocates of privatization assure us that there will be no decline in quality, yet cutting quality is exactly how private enterprise increases its profit margins. Even if we assume that regulators can protect public services, is this strong enough reason to privatize something as crucial and universal as health care? The same can be said of education. Why even experiment with a bad idea?
Besides asking if privatization actually works, it’s worth asking if it’s also wise. Is just “saving money” enough reason to turn over our health services to corporations, most based in the USA? “Yes!” many Conservatives will insist, who seem to support privatization as a matter of principle as much as a matter of economy. But is that an argument? Are you convinced?
If that argument is convincing, then it should apply right across the budget, shouldn’t it?
This will open the door to offers by many groups to handle other public services: take police services. Very expensive! There’d be many groups ready to bid on these contracts – the Hell’s Angels, for example, are likely ready to step right in to policing many areas of Canadian life – and we’ll all pay lower taxes, right?
And if we accept privatizing police services, why not the military itself? Look at the savings here! Imagine what we’d save if we could contract out Canadian military needs to groups already prepared for the job like the Wagner Group, and the multiple American private-army companies.
Education? They’ll give the job to churches . . .
OK, worrisome? There are many more things to governing than just saving taxpayers’ money! Ask each candidate where they stand on privatization. And why would we even get started on cutting taxes when it means having to buy those very cancelled services back at
private-profit rates?
