Sunday, February 3, 2008

Running Government Like a Business

I'm not a big fan of "running government like a business." First of all, government is not a business. It's not out to make a profit or attract customers. It also often finds itself having to serve people that businesses refuse to serve -- providing health care to the poor, for example. And things that work in business don't apply at all in government -- such as using tax breaks.

But there are some things that businesses do to save money that government can also take advantage of. One of them is refinancing debt to save money when interest rates fall.

And that's what Gov. Jennifer Granholm has in mind for providing one-time money to pay for some of the initiatives in her budget -- such as job retraining and building new schools.

The Detroit Free Press has the details in an editorial for Sunday (February 3, 2008).

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