Private Vs. Government, Part Two

I've never argued that government, be it at whatever level@@@, is always great, and I've never argued that private enterprise is always wrong; rather, with both being run by human beings, they are subject to our individual good and bad characteristics. What I have said, and what statistics have shown,*** is that the "rich have gotten richer," while many other Americans have had stagnant incomes, in terms of purchasing power, and many have actually lost ground, some significantly so. The balance has shifted so much to business and wealthy interests (especially toward those stellar human beings dubbed "the investment class;" known to me as "the sit on their ass class"), that its no wonder the economy has taken a dive, especially when all the shenanigans with mortgages and energy prices are taken into account. President Reagan told us that "we have to grow the pie," but when the same wealthy Americans are getting most of the slices, it doesn't much matter how big the pie is to those who can't often afford dessert.

Part of what has happened, in my opinion, is that the free markets really haven't been functioning as they are supposed to function, because of slight of hand; that is, for example, take the accounting scandals of the early 2000s. The "independent" auditors were NOT really independent, as they were cozier with their clients than a whore with a guy who just won the lottery. The books were cooked!^^^ Further, when you look at all of this bonus crap for bankers and other top executives, the idea that this has all come about because of some free market solution is a bunch of nonsense. Companies have directors who are "supposed" to watch out for the interests of shareholders. What it sure looks like, and I'm sure we're going to find out more, is that many of these directors are too close with the executives running these companies. They have allowed the pay and bonuses to run wild for these folks, as some of the execs have taken huge sums, even as the stock prices for their companies were seeing big declines. Nothing like getting to have it both ways! Is this the kind of thing that made American business great? Again, its the mindset that's the thing; the sense of "entitlement" by wealthy execs, and the wealthy directors going right along with it. These overblown egos are at the heart of the whole problem. Its a sickness and should be treated as such. There's just not enough money on this planet to satisfy these ruthless, greedy people. Do any of you doubt that within minutes of the knowledge of the 9/11 attacks, that many of the people of this ilk were already scheming as to how they were going to make money from it?

I've written here before, that most Americans understand our basic system, and we want companies to make money. On the other hand, we also have gotten the feeling that we're being taken. I suppose religious people would condemn greed under whatever guise, but I do think many Americans root for the people who have not been especially wealthy when they suddenly have a chance to come into some money. The problem has been, the folks often making the money, and scheming for more, couldn't spend what they have in fifty or a hundred, or maybe even a thousand life times.

Now, we hold government to a different standard, and we should. "We" are the shareholders in the national entity called "The United States." We're appalled when we read about government corruption, or even the appearance of such, like contracts let to companies with close ties to some officeholder. And of course, let's not forget a term that has been in the news since late last year, "Pay to play." Sometimes the "players" are Republicans, and sometimes the "players" are Democrats, as neither political party has a monopoly on "righteousness," although it seems at times that both vie heartily for top honors in "self righteousness." When corruption in government is uncovered, we get mad, and we should!!! Let me tell you though, these kinds of things go on every day in business all across the country. We're not appalled, even if we know about it, because these are private businesses, but if truth be told, and this is just my opinion, these things are far, far more common in private business dealings than in government. Further, and again just my opinion, a case could be made that many of the shenanigans played by politicians were first "learned" while they were in private business,+++ or at least they got a good tutorial from private business people. My point here is, the notion that private business always operates more efficiently (or honestly) than government is not always on solid ground. I do give private a slight edge, because when confronted with tough choices, they don't have to face voters angry who want certain things for themselves. (Or the voters may want to avoid cuts in certain things.)%%%

One of the other items that has to be tossed into the mix here is, PROFIT. Government seldom strives for profit, although with large ownerships in insurance companies, banks, and auto companies, the federal government may now hope that its investments "pay off." (From what I understand, the "investment" in Chrysler during the 1980s MADE MONEY for Uncle Sam and taxpayers.) I want to point out, the current Democratic administration in Washington didn't invent taking ownership in what had been private businesses in these times, but rather took over the policy from the previous, Republican administration. On the other hand, private business aims to make money; that is, a profit. We're going to hear a lot about this tug-of-war between "private and government" regarding health care in the coming months. There seems to be developing, and I could be wrong, a vague idea of some "private, government" combination on health care at this point. Cutting costs will be the overriding issue, and when the "profit motive" is at play, that's a tough one. AND will we allow the "schemers" and the wealthiest in the country to get the lion's share of any profit in the system? (A "Word History" is below)

@@@ By "government at any level," I mean "federal, state or local," not just federal.

*** Remember too, in twenty of the last twenty-eight years, we've had Republican administrations overseeing the gathering of these income statistics, so no conspiracies here, folks!

^^^ My sincere apologies to the prostitutes of the country for the above comparison. While you may not like them, prostitutes do serve a purpose, something many of these scandalous business executives do not, as they seek only to serve themselves.

+++ When I first entered property management, I was offered a "kick back" if I called certain companies for maintenance service. When I refused and went to the higher ups, they thanked me for my candor, but nothing was done, which tells you what? Hmm, do you think they had some zeroes on their bank accounts due to.....Nah! C'mon Randy! You're too cynical!

%%% There's always been a disconnect among members of the public (according to just about any poll I've ever seen) regarding budget cuts. We want government to cut "waste, fraud, and abuse," (In reality folks, what the hell does that mean?) as long as cuts are made to other regions, states, or communities, and not to our own. I remember a great political cartoon from the early 1980s when budget cutting for Uncle Sam was a high priority. It showed perhaps six people in a circle, each pointing to the person next to themselves, and saying, "Cut their budget."

Word History:
Midge-This word seems to go back to an Indo European word, perhaps "mu," that was simply imitative of the humming sound of insects. The basic root and meaning continued with various offshoots of Indo European, as Greek has "muia/myia" and Latin had "musca" both of which mean "fly." The Germanic branch of Indo European had "mugjon," which may have simply meant "small insect," as the numerous Germanic dialects and their more modern offspring vary in exact meaning. For instance, in German, "Muecke " can mean "midge, gnat, or mosquito," depending on what part of the German-speaking world you're in, and Dutch, "mug," means "gnat." Old English had various spellings for the word: "mygg," "mygge," "mycg," or "mycge." Our word "midget" certainly comes from "midge," but I've seen so many explanations for it, that I don't know what to believe. This one seems possible, as some folks began to call small sand flies, "midgets," during the 1800s. Eventually the term came to be applied to numerous things like cars, submarines, and people.