Why government can't match the private sector

Thomas Schaller make a case for how the private sector can be just as if not more flawed than the public sector ("Sure, government is flawed – but markets are too," May 16). One aspect of the comparison that he (perhaps intentionally?) failed to mention, however, is that in the private sector, dissatisfied customers always have the option of switching to a different vendor, bank, insurance carrier, etc. That's not the case with any government agency.

That is where the private sector excels over the public sector. Companies that provide poor service often lose customers to competitors who provide the same or better services at lower cost. Companies that perform poorly go out of business.

But in the public sector we have come to accept the fact that too often we are stuck with bad service and no alternatives. The government workers we are forced to deal with understand they are secure in their jobs whether or not anything is ever accomplished, and they act as if they don't care one way or the other.

Carl DeNicolis