Describe the privatization of public services

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

An ideal response would be:
Rather than relying on their own employees, many state and local governments have "contracted out" public services to private sector organizations, including for profit corporations as well as nonprofit agencies. This practice, called outsourcing, can sometimes have advantages. Private organizations can bring a lot of expertise to public projects. It allows governments to pay only for the completion of a specific project and not be responsible for maintaining a workforce between projects—or a workforce whose skills are not appropriate for later projects. In addition, when governments award contracts competitively—that is, when many private firms seek contracts by submitting bids—there are incentives for suppliers to improve the quality of their services and reduce their costs.
Privatization of social services is often hard to put into practice, as it often requires that public officials exercise sophisticated management skills in developing appropriate contracts, finding and evaluating competing contractors, and closely monitoring the quality of services provided by the private agencies.
Delegation of emergency and police powers to profit-making corporations also raises many other fundamental questions, particularly those touching on liability and protection of individual rights.
Outsourcing also raises fears that private contractors will hire transient or even overseas help at lower pay, undermining merit systems and public employee morale and angering some citizens. Nonetheless, despite all the issues raised by privatization, it is likely to continue or even grow, as cities and states pressed for cash look for ways to cut back on their permanent workforces and rely increasingly on private contractors to provide basic services.