Private Sector vs. Public Sector

Here are a couple of links to some conservatives discussing how the problem with New Orleans is relying on the public sector rather than the private sector. If only we would have the disaster relief and reconstruction done with no government involvement we would be much better off according to Thomas Sowell and Anne Applebaum .

However, I've got a question. Wasn't the nursing homes where the elderly were abandoned to die in the flood privately run? I'm just not convinced that the private sector is always so vastly superior.