Private Sector more Efficient than Public?

[The Minsky Moment]

You were in a private navy?

Regular US navy, but even as a junior officer he made nice prize money from the capture of those British frigates.

[crazy canuck]

You were in a private navy?

Regular US navy, but even as a junior officer he made nice prize money from the capture of those British frigates.

[Josquius]

Tyr's post made me think about the parallel situation in the real world, and I realized that the real world was the reverse of the situation for English-speaking temporary foreign teachers in Japan.   

Hey, Japan is far more the real world for me than the US will ever be. :p

It isn't just temporary English teachers, it's all foreign English teachers. It's a temporary thing for me but I know several people who have made a life out of it, they're the ones who usually go onto direct hire contracts. The problem is the powers that be would often prefer to chance it with sub-contracting to save a little bit of money and recieve temp after temp rather than settling on a trained professional- because all the accountants care is that there is a foreign English speaker in every school, the quality of the education offered is rarely considered.

I'm not sure how much of the conditions of the labor market for teaching English in Japan is transferrable to the broader issue of public vs. private sector efficiency.

It is a fair bit. As said back home I know people who have gotten into elderly care just because they want to earn some money and it was an easy job going. I'm sure anyone would much rather have a trained professional who has a clue what they're doing than some random guy hired because he's cheap and easy to fire.
Then there was my experience with the dole office and their ridiculous outsourcing to private companies in order to fudge their figures.

[grumbler]

It isn't just temporary English teachers, it's all foreign English teachers. It's a temporary thing for me but I know several people who have made a life out of it, they're the ones who usually go onto direct hire contracts. The problem is the powers that be would often prefer to chance it with sub-contracting to save a little bit of money and recieve temp after temp rather than settling on a trained professional- because all the accountants care is that there is a foreign English speaker in every school, the quality of the education offered is rarely considered.

Yes, that is one of the down sides of having government bureaucrats making those decisions.  Private education has none of those kinds of perverse incentives (it has others, but none that perverse).

It is a fair bit. As said back home I know people who have gotten into elderly care just because they want to earn some money and it was an easy job going. I'm sure anyone would much rather have a trained professional who has a clue what they're doing than some random guy hired because he's cheap and easy to fire.
Then there was my experience with the dole office and their ridiculous outsourcing to private companies in order to fudge their figures.

I am sure you want to think that your experiences in your quaint backwater back home really represent what the world is like, but it doesn't sound like it.  I believe the part about the government bureaucrats lying to fudge their figures, but that has nothing to do with outsourcing to private companies.  It just has to do with government hacks lying.

[Josquius]

It isn't just temporary English teachers, it's all foreign English teachers. It's a temporary thing for me but I know several people who have made a life out of it, they're the ones who usually go onto direct hire contracts. The problem is the powers that be would often prefer to chance it with sub-contracting to save a little bit of money and recieve temp after temp rather than settling on a trained professional- because all the accountants care is that there is a foreign English speaker in every school, the quality of the education offered is rarely considered.

Yes, that is one of the down sides of having government bureaucrats making those decisions.  Private education has none of those kinds of perverse incentives (it has others, but none that perverse).

It is a fair bit. As said back home I know people who have gotten into elderly care just because they want to earn some money and it was an easy job going. I'm sure anyone would much rather have a trained professional who has a clue what they're doing than some random guy hired because he's cheap and easy to fire.
Then there was my experience with the dole office and their ridiculous outsourcing to private companies in order to fudge their figures.

I am sure you want to think that your experiences in your quaint backwater back home really represent what the world is like, but it doesn't sound like it.  I believe the part about the government bureaucrats lying to fudge their figures, but that has nothing to do with outsourcing to private companies.  It just has to do with government hacks lying.

Annnnd....yes, straight into debate club mode.
Felt I was taking a risk in trying to have a civilized conversation there.

[DGuller]

That was predictable.

[Razgovory]

And Grumbler thinks he's punishing me by not responding to my posts.

[MadImmortalMan]

I'm so tired of this shit, can one of you just advertise for a US national who can fucking carry a sentence?

[Razgovory]

I'm so tired of this shit, can one of you just advertise for a US national who can fucking carry a sentence?

Huh?

[Eddie Teach]

I can carry an entire paragraph, if the money's right.

[CountDeMoney]

I can carry an entire paragraph, if the money's right.

I spell for food.

[grumbler]

Annnnd....yes, straight into debate club mode.
Felt I was taking a risk in trying to have a civilized conversation there.

There is always a risk that discussions here turn civilized, but your assertions that your anecdotes = compelling evidence minimizes that risk.

[Ed Anger]

I can carry an entire paragraph, if the money's right.

I spell for food.

Tim is STARVING.

[crazy canuck]

Annnnd....yes, straight into debate club mode.
Felt I was taking a risk in trying to have a civilized conversation there.

There is always a risk that discussions here turn civilized, but your assertions that your anecdotes = compelling evidence minimizes that risk.

From the guy who posted his own anecdote in this very thread this is rich indeed.  I know you are old Grumbler but even you should remember posting this.

Getting the job done" for every private company I have worked for that had contracts to provide government services involved, first and foremost, keeping the government client happy...

But I guess you were too busy trying to score some silly debating point to realize your mistake.

[grumbler]

From the guy who posted his own anecdote in this very thread this is rich indeed.  I know you are old Grumbler but even you should remember posting this.

I introduced an anecdote to evidence a specific argument, but made no general conclusions based on it.  That's precisely how anecdotes are supposed to be used.  I know that you are ignorant cC, but even you should know this.

But I guess you were too busy trying to score some silly debating point to realize your mistake.

But I guess you were too busy trying to score a silly debating point to note that my argument referred to "every private company I have worked" not to "every private company."  That's an easy blunder to make when you don't actually read what you copy and paste.