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Re:US shutdown: Flight delays caused by staff shortages by taftster on Friday January 25, 2019 @12:04PM (#18999902)
What's interesting about your statement is, I believe, that's one of the reasons why Trump was elected. There are a certain demographic of people who want our country to be run more like a business. These people likely thought Trump would be able to do so, given his "business acumen".

I'm not sure what the current situation says about this concept, if anything. Maybe the government is its own beast and can't be run like a business at all -- not saying that Trump was the right guy for the job, but wondering if any CEO type would be?

Re:US shutdown: Flight delays caused by staff shortages by xaqfox on Friday January 25, 2019 @01:05PM (#19000537)
We see the same situation publicly play out in business whenever a large or powerful newcomer moves into an already entrenched industry--like Sony did with Hollywood, Netflix did with TV production, Amazon and Apple did with music and book distribution, etc. Maybe this is less a shock if you consider that our politicians are working for separate competing "businesses" with competing goals, instead of, as one may have assumed, for a single business that has a single set of goals.
Re:US shutdown: Flight delays caused by staff shortages by ConceptJunkie on Friday January 25, 2019 @12:33PM (#19000215)
The government could be run like a business but it never will be for two reasons. First, it can make its own rules. And second, there's no competition. If you don't like what it doesn't you can't find a competitor, unless you leave the country.

Yes, you can vote, but voting only changes so much. If you're changing CEOs and radically changing direction ever 4 or 8 years, it's not likely any large scale reform will ever go long enough to have any effects.

And as we've also heard a lot recently, the entrenched bureaucracy isn't easily or quickly reformed.

Re:US shutdown: Flight delays caused by staff shortages by theseatoms on Friday January 25, 2019 @12:41PM (#19000306)
Yeah. They analogy makes no sense. They can print however much money they choose to. There's no "profit" for government.