Companies vs. government, an observation
I was browsing through a list of all farm subsidies the other day, looking for information before debating some right-wingers on my uncle's facebook post (I should really stop that), when I realized something important.
First, a common misconception of the right is that because the government resembles a corporation, it should be held to similar standards. Like: a government has a budget, a company has a budget, a company that runs deficits for too long goes out of business, thus a government that runs deficits for too long will go out of business. And: name one government program that is as efficient as a company. Stuff like that. I'd always known that government is different---it needs to tackle the things that corporations just won't, like providing clean air, or making sure people don't starve to death in the streets. And unlike a company, every person in the US is able to peer into the workings of the US and see where (most) every dollar is spent. For example, I found (on that site above) that a company called "Ducks Unlimited, Inc." in Ann Arbor received $42m over the last 10 years of conservation subsidy payments. I have no clue what they do, but I at least know that they got money, exactly how much, and I can go look for myself to see if they're actually providing some useful service, or if they're just leeching off the taxpayers. No company would ever release information like that. It is in a company's best interest to hide where your money goes, lest you get too pissed off that some eccentric millionaire in Florida with a computer-controlled AI-like doll of their (still alive) lover gets $3 from every month's subscription to satellite radio. The $3 is a guess, but it's a monopoly now, so who knows?
Summary: the transparency requirements that we (rightfully) place on government are not met in private industry, and that is a key reason that government should not be judged according to the standards of the corporate sphere.
Edit (12:47): mcniadh informs me that Ducks Unlimited is a group of hunters who buy, restore, and donate wetlands to prevent development, so that ducks and other wildlife can keep their natural habitats, so hunters can continue to hunt them.
First, a common misconception of the right is that because the government resembles a corporation, it should be held to similar standards. Like: a government has a budget, a company has a budget, a company that runs deficits for too long goes out of business, thus a government that runs deficits for too long will go out of business. And: name one government program that is as efficient as a company. Stuff like that. I'd always known that government is different---it needs to tackle the things that corporations just won't, like providing clean air, or making sure people don't starve to death in the streets. And unlike a company, every person in the US is able to peer into the workings of the US and see where (most) every dollar is spent. For example, I found (on that site above) that a company called "Ducks Unlimited, Inc." in Ann Arbor received $42m over the last 10 years of conservation subsidy payments. I have no clue what they do, but I at least know that they got money, exactly how much, and I can go look for myself to see if they're actually providing some useful service, or if they're just leeching off the taxpayers. No company would ever release information like that. It is in a company's best interest to hide where your money goes, lest you get too pissed off that some eccentric millionaire in Florida with a computer-controlled AI-like doll of their (still alive) lover gets $3 from every month's subscription to satellite radio. The $3 is a guess, but it's a monopoly now, so who knows?
Summary: the transparency requirements that we (rightfully) place on government are not met in private industry, and that is a key reason that government should not be judged according to the standards of the corporate sphere.
Edit (12:47): mcniadh informs me that Ducks Unlimited is a group of hunters who buy, restore, and donate wetlands to prevent development, so that ducks and other wildlife can keep their natural habitats, so hunters can continue to hunt them.