One of the questions that doubtless will be addressed by any public inquiry into the government’s handling of the pandemic is the role of the private sector. Some have suggested that 30 years of outsourcing have weakened the nation’s ability to respond to Covid-19. Any country faced with a crisis has to draw on the nation’s entire resources. Taxpayers cannot keep on standby all the resources needed to cope with a once-in-100-years event, so when a crisis strikes governments turn to private companies for equipment and services. Crises are always different; billions could be spent on making preparations for the last crisis, only to find that they are irrelevant to the next.

Source: The Times August 02, 2020 23:03 UTC