How profitable is government, exactly?
Published: June 28, 2009
This letter is in regard to Nelson Graves’ column (“Three cheers for government,” June 18).
Mr. Graves seems to think that with a Democrat leading the government the ever-falling Social Security fund doesn’t still owe $2 trillion to our trust fund in worthless IOU’s out in Parkersburg, W.Va., all because our government hasn’t taken the annual surplus of billions of dollars each year to put in the general fund. It has happened through many decades with both parties at fault.
Mr. Graves has praised the U.S. Postal Service for its outstanding management and service. Does he not know that the postal service is on tap to lose $6 billion this year?
Mr. Graves has praised such government-run programs as Medicare. Does he not know that, according to The Associated Press, the program is broke?
Mr. Graves has praised our government for providing for legal, as well as illegal immigrants, and the underprivileged through health care, welfare, Social Security, Medicare and other sources. Mr. Graves, our government does not provide anything to anyone. Our hard-working taxpayers provide.
Mr. Graves, our government has been doing all of this for the last 50 years. So why do you feel compelled to come forward with this now? Every administration, both Democratic and Republican, has done this.
Mr. Graves, our government bailed out Amtrak with billions of dollars many years ago. Have we gotten a single penny back? According to The Associated Press, Amtrak hasn’t had even one profitable year since.
Mr. Graves, please list and explain to me any and all functions that are solely run by government that are profitable.
Mr. Graves, after carefully and sincerely reading your column, I can’t help but wonder whether you have strong political aspirations.
Advertisement
Reader Reactions
Let’s ask Mr. McClung, then - how is the good ol’ private sector doing these days? The free market is supposed to be so ruthlessly efficient. Washington didn’t take over Wall Street and Detroit; Wall Street and Detroit went to Washington hat in hand.
Memory serves, too, that when the Postal Service had an issue with its employees that threatened to shut down operations FedEx and UPS were nowhere near being able to pick up the slack. It seems that the private sector piggybacks on the public, taking the high-end business customers whose dollars could mean a lot to the Postal Service’s bottom line while leaving the grunt work to the publicly-run service.
Bottom line is that the government isn’t supposed to be “profitable.“ Well-run? Yes. Accountable for every penny? No doubt. But if it’s doing something that is “profitable,“ then that “profitable” venture needs to be opened into the private sphere.
Delivering letters will never be “profitable.“ Running a military will never be “profitable.“ Building roads, running school systems, picking up garbage, managing wastewater-treatment plants and prisons, ditto. But those things have to be done just the same.
That’s an inconvenient truth for people like Mr. McClung.
Advertisement