"Aren't there some govt. services that can be provided by any government?"
Yes, but there are also some that can't. The French government have a monopoly on French public roads. I have to pay French taxes for the French roads.
A house in Belgium is serviced by Belgian roads and Belgian street lights. Part of the value of said house is derived from the accessibility of public services -- schools, libraries, playparks etc -- provided by the Belgian government. You derive value from their services -- not France's -- so you are their client.
Certain former government commercial functions have now been "unbundled", but in the UK that's only led to increased prices in electricity, gas, water (exc. Scotland), phone calls, public transport....
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@mohan Paul
"Aren't there some govt. services that can be provided by any government?"
Yes, but there are also some that can't. The French government have a monopoly on French public roads. I have to pay French taxes for the French roads.
A house in Belgium is serviced by Belgian roads and Belgian street lights. Part of the value of said house is derived from the accessibility of public services -- schools, libraries, playparks etc -- provided by the Belgian government. You derive value from their services -- not France's -- so you are their client.
Certain former government commercial functions have now been "unbundled", but in the UK that's only led to increased prices in electricity, gas, water (exc. Scotland), phone calls, public transport....