Contracting may cause high employee turnover at transition. Liability a. Contracting will not allow the government to escape liability. Contracting may cost the government more by increasing its liability exposure. Contracting shifts risk away from the government, which is the party best able to bear it. Accountability a. Contracting reduces accountability because private actors are insulated from the public and not subject to the same political controls as are government actors.
Contracting reduces accountability because contracts are difficult to write and enforce.
Contracting lowers the government's own capacity to provide services, which makes it dependent on contractors. Contracting carries the risk of bankruptcy by the vendor. Contracting may involve exclusive franchises that simply replace public monopolies with private monopolies.