Government vs. Business

Recent bad experiences with the Post Office have sort of driven home the point of how business is better than government. After making a complaint that apparently my mail person was taking a couple of extra days off every week (or at least going past my house) - I got a response that just oozed nonchalance from their official dispute division. The problem was really pissing me off because - it created unnatural delays in my child support payments. That affects my kid and that REALLY pisses me off. Nothing like coming home to check the mail and seeing the envelope I placed in there the night before still sitting there with the flag still up and visible from 1/2 mile away. I could clearly see the flag sticking up on my mailbox as I turned onto my street. Now imagine coming home the next day TO IT STILL SITTING THERE. Once or twice - I would probably have just let this go. And if it wasn't child support payments sitting in there, I probably wouldn't have cared too much either. But when this started going on pretty regular and after 3 incidents of finding child support payments still sitting in my mailbox over a couple month period I'd finally had enough. Eventually I ended up just going out of my way to stick those payments in the slot at the post office to ensure they were properly mailed. After complaining a few more times - to the local post office directly and through their official channels - I eventually just gave up. I got excuses and even charges that perhaps *I* was in the wrong somehow. I'm pretty sure this wouldn't have been the case if it were UPS or FedEx. It's not like I can call the Better Business Bureau or anything. What are they gonna do. It's the freaking Postal Service. I can call my Congressman. There's a reassuring thought.

Government is a necessary evil. But it is still that: an evil. There is nothing inherently good about it in my book. Government does not lead us down the path to roses and daisies. No government ever has or ever will in my book. Government is power. And power corrupts. There are checks and balances within the government itself. But the more power we give the government and the bigger they get, the less checks and balances they have with The People themselves. They are, for most purposes - unchecked in that regard anymore. It's government agencies being watched by... other government agencies. Each with their own agenda.

Anyone who's been in the military or knows people in the military will tell you about the military bureaucracy and all it's evils. There is the fun of medicare and medicaid - know anybody on those programs? Ever TRY to get on those programs? How about a pleasant trip to the DMV or your local tax office. The IRS is a fine example of power run amok. Then there's the CIA. Quite a list on those guys at this point. Know any farmers? Farmers will tell you hours worth of fun stories dealing with various government entities there. Talk about a publicly funded runaround. And the VA. We've seen those stories recently. And I'll save some suspense there: the problems won't go away on Bush's watch. Nor the next guy's (or gal's - whichever). In fact I'd be terribly surprised if the VA is ever "fixed." I truly would. Sure some changes will be made but after a while people will forget and it will be no better than it was last year or 10 years ago.

Ever call the city to get something done? How long does that take? Or does it even happen at all? Need some levies fixed? No but at least the governor gets a much needed office renovation, right? I really shouldn't have to mention public schools but I might as well. It's great when you have it out with school officials only for them to basically tell you they know far better than you how to raise your own kid. What are you going to do? Move? What if the next district is just as bad? Move again? It's a monopoly. But it's the good kind of monopoly (???). Sure there are private schools - that cost money. Which is great because the public schools get your money anyway - they just don't have to deal with your kid then.

I'm sure someone (or someones) will try and convince me that despite these things government is indeed good. Really? Good? Better than going to Staples or Home Depot? I dunno... I'm skeptical about the whole "government good, business bad" thing. Maybe Staples and Home Depot have been taking me out on golf outings or flying me on private planes to win me over or something.

Or maybe it's because free enterprise actually works. And government is well - the opposite of that. If you compare a service from business versus a similar service from government - I would bet that business yields you better performance and better service every time. Why? Because there is incentive for them to improve on those things to attract and retain customers. Competition in the marketplace drives innovation and efficiency. Government's objective is to simply provide a service. That's it. Congress creates the service, the people pay for it, and someone provides it. End of story. The incentive just isn't there. Government services are allowed to exist regardless of performance in nearly all cases. For businesses, service and efficiency are a matter of life or death. That is unless you take away competition. Remove competition for a business and stagnation and loss of quality are sure to follow. Sounds just like the government to me.