Insourcing Often Leads to Better Service and Cost-Savings

Cities and states nationwide are finding out that the promises of privatization often fail to materialize, and have been increasingly looking at “insourcing,”—that is, bringing a service or asset back under public, democratic control. The common problems of privatization that lead to insourcing are inadequate service quality, followed by inadequate cost savings. Experiences of insourcing show that it saves money, improves the quality of public services and assets, and leverages the unique knowledge and know-how of the public-sector workforce. Insourcing is a viable and popular option providing quality services, creating good jobs, and saving public money.