Public vs. Private

[Soxy]

The new Governor of Wisconsin is really excited about privatization. There are rumors that he is interested in privatizing the University of Wisconsin system.

 

So, how do you all feel about these different areas of life being privatized? (I would have included more poll questions, but it maxes out at 3.)

 

Feel free to expand ya'll and make some comments.

[HuskyCaucasian]

OOPS! I voted wrong. I All three should be public. Although, higher education... I'm not sure on.

[DukeNukeEm]

I wish I could vote "mix" for some of these.

[Soxy]

I wish I could vote "mix" for some of these.

 

For the record, most public institutions don't get 100% government funding--a lot comes from tuition, grants, etc. For example, some of the UW System schools only get about 22% of their operating budget from the state. So, at least for that option it is a mix.

[jasonxctf]

good topic.

 

some crossover's here too.

 

For ex here in Illinois, you've got the University of Illinois at Chicago which also has a hospital/medical center. Would you privatize both, none, some, parts, etc?

[Balta1701]

good topic.

 

some crossover's here too.

 

For ex here in Illinois, you've got the University of Illinois at Chicago which also has a hospital/medical center. Would you privatize both, none, some, parts, etc?

Isn't the reason that a lot of universities run their own hospital that the university also runs a medical school, and therefore they can dovetail everything together and use the same resources?

[jasonxctf]

Isn't the reason that a lot of universities run their own hospital that the university also runs a medical school, and therefore they can dovetail everything together and use the same resources?

 

maybe. I think they are classified as "teaching hospitals" which I'm sure gives them some extra help.

[Texsox]

Seems like there should have been a straight party vote so the hardcore Dems could vote Public on everything and the Reps could vote Private on everything.

[Balta1701]

Seems like there should have been a straight party vote so the hardcore Dems could vote Public on everything and the Reps could vote Private on everything.

I will say, I think that on almost all of these, there's a balance that can be struck. For example, on retirement questions...if there was no such thing as OASDI, I'd be incredibly conservative with my personal investments, because I wouldn't want to wind up being hit with a 2008 or an Enron. Even decades out, I'd be much more conservative if I didn't know I had the federal backstop. But because I know OASDI exists, if I want to put money into a riskier venture with a chance for high gains or total losses, at this point that makes more sense.

 

On education...we can argue back and forth about whether private school admission should pay as much attention to funding as it does, but at the upper levels, we've managed to come up with at least a moderately workable balance between community colleges, publicly funded larger institutions, and privately funded top tier schools.

[jasonxctf]

I will say, I think that on almost all of these, there's a balance that can be struck. For example, on retirement questions...if there was no such thing as OASDI, I'd be incredibly conservative with my personal investments, because I wouldn't want to wind up being hit with a 2008 or an Enron. Even decades out, I'd be much more conservative if I didn't know I had the federal backstop. But because I know OASDI exists, if I want to put money into a riskier venture with a chance for high gains or total losses, at this point that makes more sense.

 

On education...we can argue back and forth about whether private school admission should pay as much attention to funding as it does, but at the upper levels, we've managed to come up with at least a moderately workable balance between community colleges, publicly funded larger institutions, and privately funded top tier schools.

 

which was my exact point in the health insurance debate with a co-worker.

 

Why couldn't we model our Health Insurance System like our Public K-12 School System? Everyone has a basic level provided to them. If they don't like it, or the program doesn't work for them, they can still go out and buy private insurance. (aka- Private Schools)

 

This concept is also similar to "protection". We all get local Police Protection, but if you want to go out and buy an ADT System as an added booster, you're free to do so.

[Soxbadger]

This is one of those plans that is going to end really poorly for some one politically.

 

If they privatize the UW system, you would have to think that the first thing the private company will want to do is raise in-state tuition or accept more out of state students. When you have some one paying $20k versus some one paying $5k for the same benefit, you wonder why you cant just charge more people $20k.

 

 

[Vote4Pedro]

privatizing social security would be nice but figuring out a successful way to do it w/out screwing over the people who have put into it all these years and are collecting it now would be the issue i would have with it

[Buehrle>Wood]

U of I will make steps towards privatization by the end of the school year. They literally don't have money to pay professors come a couple of months. Some of its elements are already privatized, like the College of Business to an extent.

[bmags]

privatizing social security would be nice but figuring out a successful way to do it w/out screwing over the people who have put into it all these years and are collecting it now would be the issue i would have with it

 

oneway would be to move over their money to more secure bonds the closer they get to retirement age so they are less averse to risk.

[Balta1701]

oneway would be to move over their money to more secure bonds the closer they get to retirement age so they are less averse to risk.

And then the government hits the debt limit and decides to default on its bonds.

[bigruss]

U of I will make steps towards privatization by the end of the school year. They literally don't have money to pay professors come a couple of months. Some of its elements are already privatized, like the College of Business to an extent.

I know COB basically sells the name to everything possible, but is that really going private? They aren't selling the auditorium to Deloitte, just the name, the COB is still running and maintaining it. Or are you talking about something else?

 

 

[lostfan]

I will say, I think that on almost all of these, there's a balance that can be struck. For example, on retirement questions...if there was no such thing as OASDI, I'd be incredibly conservative with my personal investments, because I wouldn't want to wind up being hit with a 2008 or an Enron. Even decades out, I'd be much more conservative if I didn't know I had the federal backstop. But because I know OASDI exists, if I want to put money into a riskier venture with a chance for high gains or total losses, at this point that makes more sense.

 

On education...we can argue back and forth about whether private school admission should pay as much attention to funding as it does, but at the upper levels, we've managed to come up with at least a moderately workable balance between community colleges, publicly funded larger institutions, and privately funded top tier schools.

FWIW if you're a young person who didn't touch any of their investments, by now they might not have recouped 100% of their losses or to exactly where they were pre-crash but they've probably gotten back a reasonable amount of value. Every stock (and I mean EVERY stock) has a sharp V shape in its graph in late 2008-early 2009 so mutual funds and things like that have gotten back a lot of value. It would've hurt bad if you were in your 60s and had to rely on it for income, and sold things at the deflated value. Those losses are permanent.