Do Private Contractors Save the Government Money?
Inside of a Private Prison (Image by Sean Davis via Flickr)
I’ve written about faux “privatization” before, which typically entails renting out government work to contractors who are said to be cheaper and more efficient. Private prisons are a major example of this. So are mercenary outfits which you hear referred to as simply “private contractors” in reference to private armed forces in Iraq and elsewhere (think Blackwater here). In any case, there is a time for contractors to do work for the government – short-term, project-based work makes sense, like construction jobs. We don’t expect the government to have a