Running Government Like a Business

Every now and then I hear a Trump supporter explain why they voted for him: "Because he'll bring market discipline to running the government. He'll run it like a business."

But is that really what we want?

What would that look like? 

Are we seeing that now (April, 2025)?

What Trump, Musk, and DOGE Have Done So Far

President Trump, "Prime Minister" Musk, and DOGE have: 

• Identified various divisions (bureaus, agencies, and departments) that they want to eliminate, such as USAID
• Begun massive layoffs of workers in those divisions
• Begun massive layoffs even of divisions they intend to keep
• Started consolidating functions of divisions they want to close with divisions they want to keep
• Started closing field offices and consolidating functions in larger regional offices
• Canceled leases and identified properties to later sell off
• Canceled labor union contracts, including for TSA
• Canceled contracts and programs that would provide "non-essential" services, such as:
• research to fight diseases 
• purchase of farm produce that would then be shipped to hungry people overseas
• grants to elementary schools to provide education to poor communities in rural America
• partial reimbursement to farmers and ranchers for their investments to make their operations better for the environment
• grants to public libraries that service low-income communities

Setting Government up to Fail

In doing all that, they've set up these government divisions to fail. They've:

• Reduced the availability of "customer service" staff for the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Social Security Administrations, resulting in waiting for hours on hold for the next staff member
• Eliminated the ability of broadcasting accurate, reliable news to countries that censor their media
• Castrated America's ability to exert soft power in foreign affairs
• Reduced or blocked their ability to: 
• maintain air traffic control systems
• process or audit tax returns
• police against fraud to consumers
• inspect meat and poultry
• inspect imported produce at the border
• enforce worker safety regulations
• forecast the weather
• develop the next flu vaccine (for fall of 2025)

What's Next?

With all this imminent failure, what can we expect to happen next?

"See? The government can't do its job. We need to privatize this division."

In corporate America, I'd expect a failing corporate division to be either liquidated or spun off into its own company and sold off to the highest bidder. Is this all a strategy to sell the U.S. government for parts?

So what can we expect next?

• Will the TSA be privatized and sold off to Acme Rent-a-Guard, who will then hire the cheapest, least qualified officers possible?
• Will air traffic controllers have reliable equipment? Do commercial pilots know what to do when traffic control fails?
• Will more banks and Wall Street financiers will bilk consumers? Who will be laughing all the way to the bank?
• Will the 2025/2026 flu season be one of the worst since flu vaccines first became available? Will state public health agencies band together to fill the void?
• Will Florida see the next hurricane coming? Will weather forecasts be moved behind a paywall?
• How may people will die from contaminated meat? Will the meat packing industry invent a "Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval"? Will consumers trust that "Seal of Approval?"
• How many billions of dollars in tax revenue will the IRS be unable to collect?

Private enterprise does NOT serve the public interest. They server shareholder interest. In America, the voters are the shareholders. American voters place the power of the people in the hands of elected officials. Those elected officials hold that power in trust as custodians of that power.

Governing is exercising that power to align with the will of the people. Governing is NOT ruling over the people.

What Trump, Musk, and DOGE are doing is no way to serve the public trust.