Minding the Country's Doubloons

Somebody was on TV saying something like "we can't trust the government to spend our money." The second half of that is business can be trusted. The rule of profit is somehow the infallible principle that will keep the country upright, and anything else is suicidal.

It is a insipid thought that right-wing pundits use all the time. It is said off-the-cuff, as though it is an obvious point. Everybody knows that the government can't be trusted with our money. Right?

Actually, they are correct: the government really cannot be trusted to spend our money. They recognized half of the problem and assumed they could skip directly to their conclusion. So government can't be trusted.

But neither can unbridled corporations. Businesses don't have any kind of inside dope on how to do things. In fact, if we let them run around with our money, they'll quickly become speculators. The corporation works for the benefit of the corporation. When it does things that benefit workers or consumers, it is because it helps the corporation.

There is no noblesse oblige. At best, it is enlightened self-interest, which is something that requires the head corporate guy to be enlightened.

Neither corporations nor government should be able to squander my money.

The big difference is that the government of a democracy is supposed to debate and decide things in a public forum. That is opposite of a corporation, which does everything it can in secret. When was the last time you were invited into a board of directors of a major corporation?

If our elected representatives make a mess of things (and they will), we can send them packing at the next election. Try that with General Motors or Exxon/Mobile.

I have to remind myself not to fall into the trap of the right-wing special interests. Right now, they control the radio and television networks. They done an awesome job of reshaping the way we think about government.