Government Operations, Competition & Public Assets
GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS, COMPETITION & PUBLIC ASSETS
Competitive Government and Privatization
Core Principle
Government should not operate a commercial service, business-like enterprise, or monopoly merely because it historically has done so.
Where the private sector can provide the same service:
safely;
reliably;
competitively;
with equal or better quality;
at lower total long-term cost;
government should reduce or end direct operation and allow private competition.
Government should remain responsible only where there is a clear public need that competitive markets cannot reasonably satisfy.
Government Commercial Activity Test
Every federal commercial or quasi-commercial activity should be periodically reviewed.
The review should ask:
Is this an inherently governmental function?
Can private companies perform the service?
Can multiple providers compete?
Is there a genuine market failure?
Is there a national-security or universal-service reason for government involvement?
What is the full taxpayer cost, including pensions, debt, facilities, subsidies, and future obligations?
Is government crowding out private competition?
Could government buy the needed service through competitive contracting instead of operating it directly?
Could the function be transferred to states or local governments?
Should the activity be retained, restructured, competitively contracted, privatized, or eliminated?
Competition Before Government Operation
Where a service can reasonably be provided competitively, government should not automatically receive an exclusive operating role.
Private companies, cooperatives, nonprofits, state entities, and other qualified providers should be allowed to compete where appropriate.
Government should regulate legitimate safety and consumer-protection standards without unnecessarily preventing market entry.
Subsidize the Public Need, Not the Institution
If government determines that an otherwise unprofitable service is necessary for the public interest, any subsidy should attach to the specific public service being purchased.
Government should not provide unlimited financial support merely to preserve a particular agency, corporation, or historical operator.
For example, if rural transportation, remote delivery, or another service requires subsidy:
define the required service;
competitively bid it where practical;
publish the cost;
establish performance standards;
periodically rebid the contract.
The objective is to purchase the service taxpayers need, not permanently protect the organization that historically provided it.
No Hidden Subsidies
Government enterprises should publicly report the full economic cost of providing their services.
This should include:
direct appropriations;
borrowing advantages;
pension obligations;
taxpayer-backed debt;
government-owned property;
tax exemptions;
capital grants;
regulatory advantages;
other material public support.
A government enterprise should not claim to be profitable while excluding major taxpayer-supported costs.
Performance Standards
Government-operated or publicly subsidized commercial services should have measurable performance requirements.
Depending on the service, standards may include:
cost per customer;
reliability;
delivery time;
on-time performance;
customer satisfaction;
safety;
maintenance;
response time;
environmental impact.
Chronic failure should trigger restructuring, rebidding, privatization, or elimination.
Competitive Contracting
Where private provision is practical, government should use open competitive procurement.
Contracts should:
use measurable outcomes;
prohibit favoritism;
disclose major costs;
include audit rights;
include termination provisions for repeated failure;
avoid unnecessary barriers that only the largest corporations can satisfy.
Public monopolies should not simply be replaced with private monopolies.
Anti-Monopoly Safeguard
Privatization should increase competition, not merely transfer government monopoly power to one corporation.
Where infrastructure naturally limits competition, government may:
retain ownership of core infrastructure;
allow multiple private operators;
regulate access;
periodically rebid operating rights.
The objective should be competitive service wherever reasonably possible.
Essential-Service Safeguard
Some services may remain necessary even where they are not commercially profitable.
Government may retain or subsidize essential services involving:
national security;
emergency response;
remote communities;
critical infrastructure;
other demonstrated public needs.
Such intervention should be:
narrowly defined;
transparent;
periodically reviewed;
no larger than necessary.
Sunset Review of Government Enterprises
Federal commercial enterprises and major subsidized programs should undergo periodic sunset review.
Congress should affirmatively determine whether each major activity should:
continue;
be restructured;
be competitively contracted;
be privatized;
be transferred;
be eliminated.
Programs should not continue forever merely because nobody votes to reconsider them.
Sale of Unneeded Government Assets
Government property no longer necessary for a legitimate public function should be:
sold;
leased competitively;
transferred to another legitimate public use;
otherwise disposed of transparently.
Government should not indefinitely maintain unused buildings, land, vehicles, equipment, or commercial assets without a defined purpose.
Private-Sector Innovation
Government procurement and regulation should not unnecessarily prevent private companies from offering newer, cheaper, or better alternatives to government-operated services.
Regulations should protect:
safety;
competition;
consumers;
national security;
without protecting an outdated government business model from competition.
Environmental Waste Reduction
Government should reduce programs and practices that generate large quantities of unnecessary physical waste.
Where government systems encourage or subsidize mass distribution of unwanted materials, policy should consider:
consumer opt-out rights;
accurate cost recovery;
recycling requirements;
reduced unnecessary printing;
digital alternatives;
environmental costs.
Unsolicited Commercial Mail
Households should have a simple national mechanism to opt out of unsolicited commercial advertising delivered to their homes.
Commercial senders should respect opt-out requests.
Exceptions may apply for:
legal notices;
government notices;
personally requested mail;
subscriptions;
other clearly justified communications.
Bulk commercial mail pricing should reflect its actual processing and delivery costs.
Consumers should not be forced to subsidize large quantities of unwanted advertising through public infrastructure.
Technology-Neutral Government
Government should not preserve outdated delivery systems merely because they were once necessary.
Where secure digital services can replace expensive physical processes without harming access, security, or reliability, agencies should modernize.
People who reasonably require physical access should still have practical alternatives.
Core MPA Standard
Government should govern. Businesses should compete.
Where competitive private providers can deliver a service more efficiently and reliably, government should step back.
Where a genuine public need cannot be met by the market, government may intervene narrowly and transparently.
The question should never be:
"Has government always done this?"
The question should be:
"Why does government still need to do this, and can anyone provide the same or better result at lower total cost?"
Related policies: Federal Spending & National Debt; Federalism & State and Local Authority; Government Integrity & Equal Justice; Workers' Rights.
Status: Proposed / Draft — not yet formally adopted.
Originally published: August 15, 2026.
Last updated: September 25, 2026.
Version: Draft 0.1.