I can say the exact same to those whose solution is to privatize everything. And frankly it seems like they're the ones who have governed the US for the last half century and the results do not seem great.
Health care and higher education have moved hard the other direction.
No clue if privatization would work here - not pitching that - but the current solution has failed us and the "make it free" mantra doesn't work as long as the price is spiraling out of control.
How so? I have no option to get public health care that I'm aware of; it's actually hard to imagine getting health care without being forced to pay a premium to a private company.
And since you pay a fraction of the actual costs of the service for the public plans, the government subsidizes the rest.
The government is rarely the service provider for most of what they "provide" - roads are built by construction firms, medical care is mostly private doctors (the VA and HHS has some), the TSA is replaced by private firms in some places, and even nuclear missiles are manufactured by companies.
That's a deliberate policy choice. It doesn't have to be that way, but our politicians tend to be corrupted by campaign contributions and lucrative post-political jobs or (inclusive or) free-market ideologues who demand contractor bidding for any government services.
That's a theory.
But as a former Fed, let me propose a different hypothesis: The people who want to do good work, want to grow, and want to push to the next level (whatever that is), don't go into government. Or if they do, they don't stay.
But don't believe me: if you know any US veterans, ask them about their experiences with the VA. Ask them if they've ever gone when it wasn't the only option.
The other veterans in my area (that I know and talk to) also seem to have good experiences with our VA healthcare. Just chipping in to say that while there is a lot to criticize about the VA, there are things to praise too.
In general, we give a lot of lip service to "supporting the troops", but mostly society doesn't give a crap about them after they come home. The only time this was different was during the World Wars period, where a large % of the male population was drafted. Veterans had political power then. Now that our military itself has been largely privatized and made up of volunteers, often themselves looking for financial opportunities, veterans are largely forgotten, except to make oneself feel good by "thanking them for their service". But if they're, say, permanently disabled from wounds? Welp, tough luck.