As the race for 2012 gears up, the belief or talking point that "government should be run like a business" seems to be gaining traction. Especially in Mitt-speak and Mitt-surrogate speak. Oh really?
In what way? The U.S. Government has responsibilities, many constitutionally mandated responsibilities; and other moral responsibilities. These cannot be outsourced or “spun off” into other entities, though the Republicans have been trying like hell to privatize many of them.
We are citizens, not shareholders or employees who can be fired at will. We have a social contract, not a consulting contract, not a purchase order, not an employment contract. Too bad the attorneys suing the Administration over the Affordable Care Act are, in truth, fighting against what in essence is the social contract. We are the only western nation to do so. Basic healthcare is not like a key to the Executive washroom – it is a right, not a privilege.
Surplus and profit are not interchangeable terms. During National disasters, competitive bids to remedy the situation are not sent out. We demand action regardless of dollar cost. It is unfathomable for a sitting President, a FEMA director, or other department head to deny services in a disaster on the grounds of being fiscally unfeasible.
“Gee, Rick, I’d love to help after Hurricane George, but over here at FEMA we’re showing a little profit right now, and I sure don’t want to listen to complaints at the next shareholders’ meeting or see our stock price fall.”
Our roads crumble, our bridges collapse. When the physical infrastructure of a manufacturing plant is sub-par and deemed too expensive to fix, it is abandoned and a new facility built at a different site – or off shore.
We cannot off-shore bridges, roads, or fire stations or build them in new locations with lower taxes bases without serious consequences.
It may be cheaper to send goods from Seattle to Minneapolis by way of Canada, but you’ll have a hard time convincing people in the southern Seattle suburbs to drive to Canada to get to Downtown.
Perhaps in one way, running the government like a business is an excellent idea.
Let us borrow a cost-cutting euphemistic strategy from Corporate America, namely “Pay for Performance.”
Mr. Issa, Mr. Walsh, Mr. Paul, Mr. Cantor, Ms. Bachmann, Ms. Murkowski, you now make minimum wage. Don’t like it? Quit!