Mary Becker asserted in “Message to Main Street” in last Saturday”s Record-Bee that government should be run more like a business. It sounds good, but businesses differ from government in fundamental ways. A car dealer sells cars. If the dealer doesn”t make a profit, the business fails. Fortunately for car dealers, we don”t expect them to maintain roads, respond to traffic accidents or issue drivers” licenses. Similarly, it”s hard to see how a profit could be made on things like child protective services, disaster preparedness and meat inspections.
Successful business owners also know there”s a difference between spending and investing. If spending less than we take in is our ultimate goal, does that mean it”s foolish to rent a storefront and purchase inventory before we”ve actually made any sales? Is everyone who”s ever taken out a business loan irresponsible?
Becker asserts, regarding the health care bill, that business owners need to know exactly what their expenses will be five years from now. When has this ever been the case? Who knew in 2005 what they”d be paying in premiums today?
What practical solution is Becker offering? I, for one, hope her solution ensures at least a reasonable expectation that the person standing next to her in the checkout line has access to treatment for communicable disease, regardless of whether or not she feels that particular human being deserves health care, or anything else.
Finally, I don”t understand the apparent (not to mention prejudicial) assumption that anyone who completed an academic program at an institution that turns down more students than it accepts has no grounding in reality and considers him or herself more important than others. What does she base this on? At such a critical time for our nation, all of us need to take an interest, make an effort to be informed and honor common sense.
Public discourse on our civic challenges is going to require more substance than the sarcasm and snarky zingers that have increasingly passed for commentary in recent years, and I say that as someone who applied to Harvard and didn”t get in.
Patricia Hale
Kelseyville
