Michael Moore (of Roger and Me fame) is making a documentary on the US health care industry called Sicko. When asked about why he thinks the US government can handle the task better than the private sector he notes:

Ask anyone on Social Security if their check comes on time every month. Like clockwork. And it comes through the so-called dilapidated U.S. mail. My dad’s check literally will come on the same day every month. The government has been quite good and efficient at creating a number of systems.

The government can mail checks on time, ergo can provide more efficient health care! QED.

Nothing crystallizes a problem like a good analogy, and nothing highlights a miscomprehension like a bad analogy.