> It's absurd that we can find it in our budgets to pay for fireman and police but for some reason anything related to medicine needs to be privately contracted out.
Seattle spends nearly $400 million a year on the SPD, which is about 25% of their discretionary budget.
That's a more complicated example than I think you intended. Seattle tried to move some of the functions SPD was handling to other people during the badly named "Defund SPD" movement. The police got angry that part of "their" budget and responsibility was taken away, and has spent the past few years successfully campaigning to get it back.
Yeah, my country tried to do a switcharoo in the 2000, by funding what was called 'proximity police' on the national police budget. They couldn't arrest for misdemeanor or traffic infractions, couldn't do an identity check, didn't have any weapons, were only able to call other services in case of an imminent danger, and was tasked to organise regular spelling bees, basketball/football games etc. Basically street councillors. Worked in some areas, worked less in others, still, in most areas where young people violence was an issue, it had promising results.
Turns out the police noticed and lobbied the next government into removing the department and getting all the money back for regular law enforcement.
Seattle spends nearly $400 million a year on the SPD, which is about 25% of their discretionary budget.