Opinion: Government needs to run like business

We have high expectations. And our expectations rise with the price tag. The more we pay, the better we expect the product or service to be. And if we don’t get what we pay for, we are not shy about complaining.

Hence Americans’ discontent with the federal government on everything from FEMA’s hurricane response to the war in Iraq.

I don’t know anyone who doesn’t think they’re paying top dollar for the products and services of the federal government. And we all expect value for those dollars. Sadly, we don’t seem to be getting it. And, in case you haven’t noticed, a lot of people are complaining.

In any realm but government, such high levels of consumer dissatisfaction would lead to entrepreneurship, competition and better products and services at lower prices. Because this is government, the price keeps getting higher, the quality keeps dropping and the average customer keeps getting the shaft.

Why is government doing such a lousy job, especially in addressing our domestic disasters? At first I speculated that the current administration is trying to make some incredibly awkward point about the evils of big government (Look at how large and ineffective it is. Let’s get rid of it!).

Then I realized that government’s failures, such as FEMA’s Katrina response, are symptomatic of a disease in the body politic.

The bureaucracy is too large and should be streamlined, but that’s not the main problem.

Federal spending is undisciplined and has increased at an appalling rate under this administration, but that, too, is not the main problem.

The problem is the failure of government to operate in an ethical and businesslike manner, and the failure of we the people to hold government accountable for that failure.

The disgrace and resignation of Rep. Randy Cunningham, R-Calif., who confessed last week to tax evasion and accepting $2.4 million in bribes, is an obvious example, but the problem goes far beyond the obvious.

For instance, as steward of our tax dollars – a limited resource no matter what legislators and presidents think – the federal government should never grant no-bid contracts to anybody.

How can a government that serves the most demanding consumers on the planet not know how to comparison shop? It’s just bad business.

Political appointees should receive their appointments based on their relevant experience and knowledge in the operations they are to head, not because they’re somebody’s campaign buddy or brother-in-law. Bad hiring practices are just bad business.

Government insiders should not be allowed to leave the government and immediately go to work lobbying the very agencies they used to work in. Turning a blind eye to such overt conflicts of interest is unethical, and unethical behavior is just bad business.

It is a pity that, at a time when we are trying to hold up democracy as a beacon of sensible government in a violent world, our own version of it increasingly looks like the best form of government that money can buy.

And what does that do to troop morale in Iraq?

Clarissa French is editor of Springfield Business Journal.