Neil Reynolds is right to urge Canadians to strive for a medal-worthy public sector (Input, Output: We Need A Public-Sector Olympics - March 8). Where he is wrong, is to equate simple economic efficiency with gold-medal performance.
The goal of a public sector should not be to squeeze costs while focusing on the performance of a very small number of our country's elites - though it might seem that way today. A cheaply run public-health system, widely conceived, that produces a few Canadians (or even a majority) in excellent health, while letting a minority languish, is not a better investment than a more expensive system that helps all Canadians maintain their physical and mental well-being. The public sector is a team sport where a few individual performances do not add up to success. That Crosby kid scored a goal, it was the team that won the gold.