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Government Is Not A Business

Government Is Not A Business

Last updated on: December 31, 2024 at 3:16 am by Henry Karlson

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Government Is Not A Business 2024-12-31T03:16:41-05:00 Henry Karlson

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Ken Lund: US Capitol Building / flickr

Government is meant to work for and promote the common good. It is not intended to be used for private interest, especially for the exclusive interest of the rich and powerful seeking to make a greater profit for themselves at the expense of the poor and needy. Government is meant to promote justice, justice which includes providing services to promote the common good. To provide those services, government will have to spend money; they are not meant to be sold to the public, with the expectation that fulfilling the basic needs of government will come with a profit. Rather, government is going to have to fund itself through other means, such as a just system of taxation. Government must not be forced to sell off its services to private companies, companies which are expected to make a profit, when they are seen as unprofitable, because that not only undermines the purpose of government, but ends up turning those needs into commodities to be bought and sold, with the expectation that the businesses will make a profit by it (with the profit, and not the service itself, being the point).

Why do I have to state this? Why is this even in question? It is because, for quite some time, we have been hearing many politicians, mostly Republicans, stating the opposite. They want to treat the United States as a business; they want the government to be run like a business, and they think the best way for the United States to do this is to privatize the goods and services which the government should be providing to the people. They say if a particular service, like the Post Office, does not make a profit, this is proof something is wrong, and either such a service must be changed to make a profit, or privatized, so that business leaders, who know how to make money, will be able to make that profit. The problem with this is when you treat government as a business, and a business whose function is to make a profit, government loses itself and the reason for its existence. Yes, financial concerns are real, but there are many more ways to deal with them than to see the services of government as being things to be bought and sold.

Those in positions of power in the United States should not be talking about privatizing Social Security and Medicare, nor should they be seeking to dismantle the society safety, nor the various regulations used to make sure corrupt businesses do not ignore their responsibility to the world at large. Those who do this use the authority of government against the proper aims of the government. Much of what the government provides should not come with a cost; others, should come with a reasonable cost, but the kind which can be and is supplemented by the resources of the government itself (which is why, if the Post Office is losing money, we should not see that as proof that the postal system be privatized, but rather, we should expect it will come as a net loss as the system should be subsidized by the government itself)

What is really appalling to me is that how many of those promoting profits over people are those who claim to be Christian. How can any Christian not know that greed is a sin? How can any Christian justify injustice, suggesting government is not intended to promote the common good, that it is a communist ideology which suggests this, when the Christian faith consistently indicates the opposite? Indeed, as we can find stated many times in Scripture, government is to look for and promote the good of all, even foreigners:

Thus says the LORD: “Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word, and say, `Hear the word of the LORD, O King of Judah, who sit on the throne of David, you, and your servants, and your people who enter these gates. Thus says the LORD: Do justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor him who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the alien, the fatherless, and the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place (Jer. 22:1-3 RSV).

Similarly, those who are unjust, those who exploit the people, or hurt those in need, are warned in Scripture that they will not be able to continue to do so indefinitely; justice will be coming for them. “But if you will not heed these words, I swear by myself, says the LORD, that this house shall become a desolation” (Jer. 22:5 RSV). Jesus summarized the consequences those who choose greed over the common good will face by saying:

But woe to you that are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you that are full now, for you shall hunger. Woe to you that laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. Woe to you, when all men speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets (Lk. 6:24-26 RSV).

Again, I cannot understand how any Christian who takes Scripture seriously can suggest that the government has no responsibility for the promotion of the common good, no responsibility to help the people, especially if it costs the government money to do so. I cannot understand how so many take on the name of Christian, act so pious in front of the people, and yet betray the basic fundamentals of justice promoted by Christ himself. I especially cannot understand how many want to portray the opposite of what Christ said as being the authentic Christian position. They clearly have not read, or ignore Scripture, for what they offer is far from Christian.

Government is not a business. Business, itself, does not have to be engaged for the sake of profit. The profit motive, sadly, taken over our way of viewing the world, making greed king. Too many politicians justify injustice by saying businesses (and government) must seek profit above all other things. They say if businesses can make more money by not following various ethical concerns, they should ignore those concerns and make more money, and if businesses do not do that, they should be penalized. This reinforces the false notion that profit, not people, is the point of business and the point of life itself.

It seems to me that far too many are involved in politics, and in business, not to make things better, but to find a way to exploit others for their own private benefit. They see the services which government are meant to provide are one of the things they can exploit and use for their own gain. How long can this last? It can’t last forever. The more the rich exploit the system and loot it, the more people become displaced, hungry, homeless, sick and die, the more likely such people will come together to demand the justice they have been denied. When this happens, as history shows, there will be violence, and a lot of needless bloodshed. I fear that we might be closing in on that day. We already see signs of it – how else can we explain the reaction many had to the murder of a Health Insurance CEO?

I cannot but look to the United States, my homeland, with fear and shame. I am afraid of what is to come. I also think many of the rich know exactly what is to come, and they are trying to use the system to preemptively defend themselves. As human workers continue to be replaced by automation, while at the same time, the government continues to dismantle the social safety net and the basic services people need to survive, something is going to give. Unless government is reformed, and the common good is restored, the end result of this is going to be mass death and destruction. I am ashamed that the people of the United States do not realize how much they are being lied to, how much they are being manipulated by the rich and powerful to undermine the common good, and therefore, their own particular good so that the worst case scenario might happen. I am especially ashamed of my fellow Christians who have agreed to the dictates of greed and put profits over people. Again, and again, and again, I hear many of those who are being exploited by the system accept the propaganda of the system itself, denouncing the social safety net, even though it will end poorly for them. Why can’t they see what is coming? Why can’t they see it is not right? And why has the media helped make this happen? Truly, I just look to the future and weep, weep like Jeremiah wept, knowing that we have created our own downfall.

* This Is Part XXXIII Of My Personal Reflections And Speculations Series

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N.B.: While I read comments to moderate them, I rarely respond to them. If I don’t respond to your comment directly, don’t assume I am unthankful for it. I appreciate it. But I want readers to feel free to ask questions, and hopefully, dialogue with each other. I have shared what I wanted to say, though some responses will get a brief reply by me, or, if I find it interesting and something I can engage fully, as the foundation for another post. I have had many posts inspired or improved upon thanks to my readers.

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