No, the taxes we pay are going to private institutions driven by profit instead of into funding public institutions that don't have this self-interest. This is not a model I support.

I see.

I think it is a balance.

Auctioning this work to private companies should theoretically make it more cost efficient - and I think it is.

At least I hear that workers a much more stressed than they were historically, so I don't hope this comes with no benefit...

I can only speak for the two countries I've lived in (Finland & UK) and society is not amenable to privatisation in either. In the UK pretty much everything that has been privatised has been ruined (water, energy, transport) with high prices and poor service.

I honestly didn't think anyone in the US considered healthcare socialized (same for housing and a big chunk of university-level education), so I've learned something today.

I personally find it hard to reconcile the concept of socialized healthcare with UnitedHealth Group being apparently the 7th company by revenue in the world, at least I don't think that's what Europeans would mean by "socialized".

Live in the US and don’t understand why OP is saying those sectors are public. Everything mentioned is NOT socialized.

As someone from the US, I consider all those industries to be almost fully for profit. Our k-12 education is public, but constantly under fire to move those public funds to private providers via various voucher programs. I would say that each of those industries have various regulations around them, so maybe that's why the commenter thinks it's socialized.

You're wrong about this.