Comments on: Why Government Can’t Run a Business

By: Right_Again

Right_Again — Sat, 30 May 2009 12:12:30 +0000

1. It’s not their money, so they don’t care what it costs.

2. Governments lack a profit motive. The bottom line is irrelevant.

3. There are always relatives and friends of the politicians in charge who need continuing employment.

4. Working hours are 8 to 5 five days a week (if even that). At 5:01 most government buildings are totally empty.

By: oklahomajon

oklahomajon — Sat, 30 May 2009 11:56:52 +0000

I am with a steel com in Oklahoma and we can produce about that much in one week if we run full bore and everthing goes good in the mill it amazing what American know how and free enterprise has done but when the goverment start takeing over the car co. your are going to have about one production maybe third we think they have been badly manged just wait and the look at it Obama givingthe union part ownship in the car company is a payoff bigtime

By: Streiff

Streiff — Sat, 30 May 2009 11:46:11 +0000

1. I can’t agree with the “political decision” bullet at all. Any government business is going to be run by career civil servants who have to survive from one administration to the next.

2. Government is structured to spend money, not make money. Your agency gets punished for underspending so their is no incentive to save or invest.

3. Governments are risks averse. They are much more likely to do a task the way it has always been done (“no body ever got fired for buying IBM”) than to look to innovation.

4. You get paid the same whether you are successful or not.

5. Power is measured by the number of people you supervise not by the amount of money you make.

By: Warner Todd Huston

Warner Todd Huston — Sat, 30 May 2009 07:12:55 +0000

Too bad so many Americans are wholly ignorant of these salient points.

By: antisocial

antisocial — Sat, 30 May 2009 06:53:58 +0000

1>Political considerations always trump economic realities because political advantage is what government looks for.
2>Government is inherently corrupt.
3>Government is not accountable for its failures.

In the history of civilization government has NEVER been successful in business.

By: Achance

Achance — Sat, 30 May 2009 03:39:49 +0000

living in exile, fleeing from the revolution and the assassins. Trouble is, Paris and London just don’t do it anymore, so where would I take my ill-gotten gains and live in decaying decadence during the fin d’siecle? They just don’t make revolutions like they used to; instead of jackboots on your stairs, this one just come with an increase in your credit card interest.

By: Vladimir

Vladimir — Sat, 30 May 2009 03:23:21 +0000

And they were characterized by crappy, poorly designed consumer goods. Plenty of shoes, all in size 8-1/2 B. Rampant alcoholism. No regard for the environment. No regard for economics.

By: texas214

texas214 — Sat, 30 May 2009 03:19:07 +0000

BMW, Toyota, Honda, Mercedes….. all now have models built in America without the UAW/Obama.

By: texas214

texas214 — Sat, 30 May 2009 03:12:01 +0000

I’ve made up my mind that i will no longer, ever support the take over of any American industry by the government/UAW. We all should band together and agree that while in the past we wanted to “buy American” that no longer applies when these companies (GM/Chrysler) are hijacked by un-American actions.

Toyota, Honda, BMW, Mercedes are companies that now build in America, under American policies, with American employees, and will now get my business because the are “American” companies.

PS. Ford is a great company but my money would go to the UAW, and that bothers me.

By: Jeff Emanuel

Jeff Emanuel — Sat, 30 May 2009 03:11:47 +0000

never be allowed to run health care

By: 6eorge Jetson

6eorge Jetson — Sat, 30 May 2009 03:05:23 +0000

While a money losing Federal Govt endeavor can become an annoyance, the size of the Federal budget and the underlying power to tax will dwarf the size of any specific subsidy. Thus, the absolute economic constraints that force private, bottom-line conscious companies to optimize (at least to some degree) operate at best very, very weakly on government businesses.

As long as political capital exists, subsidies can cover for endeavors not worth their cost.

By: izoneguy

izoneguy — Sat, 30 May 2009 02:52:40 +0000

GM/Chrysler should be pumping out cars at about 1/2 capacity by the end of the summer…and they will probably cost twice as much.
Which won’t matter if Obama and the UAW can crush the imports of foreign built cars.

GM And UAW Sparring Over Foreign Production Continues

http://wallstreetpit.com/4374-gm-and-uaw-sparring-over-foreign-production-continues