While most Americans may not believe it, Europe has managed to the United States when it comes to allowing the private sector to take over services previously provided by the government.
For example, post offices in the European Union are now privatized, and most airports in Europe are run by a private concessionaire. Many of Europe’s highways are funded not by taxes but by the drivers themselves, via tolls, and many EU governments have created personal retirement accounts for their citizens to supplement or partially replace their own Social Security system.
Europe also has beaten the United States in implementing a real-time payments system. While we are finally getting around to rolling out our own system, there is a very real possibility that the Federal Reserve may choose to enter the market and delay adoption of real-time payments by four to five years, at least.