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When I was at the range with the MP5, I found that I could easily get all of my bursts into the target's chest without any misses.
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My uncle once told me about the use of M-16's during Vietnam. At the time, there was no such thing as a 3 or 5 round burst selector. He pointed out that full-auto was useless unless you were putting cover fire down over a rice-paddy. Alternatively, full auto could be used to scare the enemy into retreat temporarily, but don't expect to hit much. If you really wanted to shoot the enemy, you needed to aim at them and control your shots. This meant fewer than 3 bullets leaving the muzzle at a time. His opinion was past 3 rounds, you were no longer on target. Apparently the soldiers of that era used a technique of quick trigger squeezes to let off 3-4 rounds at a time. He said that most guys that saw much combat got VERY good at it. I assume he saw plenty of combat because he is still a train-wreck today, but he has never talked about that.
I wasn't there and I don't know much about what the modern Army does or what the selector on a modern M-16 looks like, but that was what he told me. The MP-5, however, does have a burst selector. I suspect that is the way that the SEALS use it.
So my point is, perhaps from a technical standpoint, an automatic rifle firing controlled bursts is certainly effective. However, it is a weapon made for war. It is not made for neighborhoods, unless you live in the Gaza Strip. Yes, police do carry AR-15's and MP-5's, but in my neck of the woods, they are all semiautomatic. And that seems to be more than sufficient enough for most folks who are not defending a hill in Korea circa 1951.