Friday, October 29, 2010

Run it like a Business

"If I ran my business like he runs the government, I'd be out of business."

So some flounder on the tube thinks we should run our government like a business? And why is that? Take second and consider what is the prime goal of any business...............Go ahead, take your time........I'll wait......

Yeah that's right. Profit. Everything a business does is generally aimed at bringing in more of your dollars into their pockets. Based on the outrageous claims coming from the folks who drool to the Right, they should be happy then. The government is doing just fine picking our pockets just as any business would love to do. What's the beef?

I hear way too much whining leading in with tired old notions like "less government, "lower taxes", blah blah blah.

There will never be less government. That ship sailed long ago. With the population of this country well over 300 million and climbing steadily, any thought to trimming government is folly. And claiming to be for less government when the Republican's actions over the last 40 years have proven this is not the case, they just look like lying hypocritical idiots everytime they whip out their go to slogan of less government.

Might it not be better to shift our goals to ones that might have a snow ball's chance of happening? Like I don't know......Maybe instead of less government, how about we aim for better government. Wasting our time on futile effort only detracts us from making government work better.

Tearing it down is not the answer just as building it up for the sake of building it up is not either. Demand of our leadership better stewardship of the responsibilites we handed them when we elected them.  Don't fall prey to empty promises and slogans. 

Later.............................................

6 comments:

The Blog Fodder said...

There are similarities between running government and running business but they are not what the idiots who mouth that expression usually thing about.

Human Resources would be first on the list. You need good people who have the required knowledge, skills and Abilities. You have to find them and keep them.

Other wise, government is totally risk averse at all levels because risk takers are punished; business must take calculated risks as they are rewarded.

Business is one share one vote. Government is one citizen one vote BUT decisions made outside that vote (most of them are) depend on one dollar one vote.

Business satisfies shareholders with profit; government satisfies citizens with ????

Kulkuri said...

I would almost buy the argument of running the government like a business if most of the business people running for office hadn't been so bad at running their businesses. A few examples come readily to mind: The one that ran HP into the ground and was paid to leave, Ditto the one that did the same at E-bay, and in Michigan the one running for governor who ran Gateway into the ground while amassing a personal fortune before selling the company to Taiwan. That was after he outsourced most of the jobs overseas. Now he is claiming he knows how to create jobs, in China maybe!!

Also, I have never understood why there are people who say government is the problem running for office to become part of the problem. Those types only make the problem worse, never improve things. Instead, they enrich themselves and their cronies.

muddleglum said...

I usta work for the Feds. My agency was run like a business and made money for the gov't. That was one of the reasons I left—it really had no business competing with business.

I agree with the Blog Fodder, Human Resources is near the top of the list for elected officials. Working with others, listening and analyzing data objectively are all up there, too, and those traits aren't monopolized by business men.

Actually, policies aren't all that high on my list—a good conservative is equal to a good liberal most of the time.

Tom Harper said...

When rightwads dribble out "if I ran my business the way they run the government..." they're only referring to government programs they don't like. You know, protecting the environment, enforcing safety regulations, Social Security and Medicare, etc.

These same people would sh*t if somebody suggested running the Pentagon or the Prison-Industrial Complex like a business.

Randal Graves said...

Given that most businesses and governments contain humans, demanding anything is probably a waste of time.

The Blog Fodder said...

Randall, you may have hit on the crux of the problem with the entire world. It is full of humans, who, as my professor used to say about Holstein cows, under the most carefully controlled scientific conditions, will do whatever in hell they please.