Run government ‘like’ a business

I sense Mr. Stuart Smith (Letters, “Government run as business too risky,” Nov. 1) is more of a socialist than a capitalist in his recent letter regarding running the government “as” a business. I noticed his first paragraph included the word “like” and then warned if we do this “bad judgment can mean bankruptcy and ruin.”

Our current state is we continue to borrow much more than we take in, creating a debt our children’s children will have to endure. Bad judgment, bankruptcy and ruin sounds like the direction this country is already in. You wouldn’t run your own home like that and, if so, you would be indeed homeless in short course, yet it’s OK for the government to do so?

From there he leaped to having government run “as” a business with all the trimmings including a quote from Mussolini to underline his misleading idea of what many are implying. While I agree with you that government should not be run by businesses and I disagree with the Citizens United decision as much as you do, “as” and “like” are two different things and substituting one for the other in the way your letter reads is a gross misrepresentation of our desires.

When we say to run the government “like” a business simply means applying good basic business principles to the way our government runs things. Good businesses are built on, among other things, efficiency, creating a positive balance sheet, balanced budgets, eliminating waste, providing a good return on the investors, etc. Does that, in any way, sound like the way our government runs?

In this model we, the citizens, are the investors and we actually do, by default, elect our bosses. Our elected officials make the laws, appoint judges and enforce the laws that govern our everyday living and livelihood.

So, in short, running the government unlike a business has put us in the precarious position we’re facing. Does the public want us to continue in this manner right off the cliff or apply old-fashioned business principles to the way we do things and turn this country around?

This story was originally published November 9, 2016 at 4:10 PM with the headline "Run government ‘like’ a business."