And how long do you think they'd last as nonprofits? And how shitty would the service be before they folded? Dumb idea IMHO.
Depends on how well staffed and well run they are. The service would be comparable to the DMV or USPS. Bad, but just bearable enough.
I think the point here is that since you are required by the government to purchase a service from a private corporation in order to survive (work, eat ,pay bills, feed your family), said service shouldn't be beholden to being traded on the stock exchange, whereby the CEO's make millions in bonuses based upon how well they can bilk you, the consumer out of your hard earned savings.
This current model always leaves room for back room deals, corruption, price fixing, corporate greed and leaves you the consumer holding the bag. Not that there isn't corruption in government agencies, but there is accountability to the citizens that fund the government.