Money and Power

[pioneer]

In very general terms, the free market motivation is based on making money. While government motivation is based on making power. Free market money can then be used to buy power, such as with lobbying and targeted campaign contributions. While power can be used to make money, such as with taxation and regulations.

 

The free market is good at making money. Profit is maximized when the resources are used as efficiently as possible. One needs to cheap down as far as possible and still be able to sell. In government, one is not allowed to use their position to make personal money. At least not in the open. What is allowed is to use one's position to create more power. This differentiation between money and power creates two different approaches with respect to resources.

 

For example, if one was given a choice of $10M and ten people or $5M and five people to do a job, the free marketeer would chose the latter for his company, since this could mean $5M profit. One tries to do the most with the least to make the most money.

 

With government, since they can't use any of those resources for personal profit, one would chose the $10M and ten people, since that means more money and manpower for your power. If the next guy, in the adjacent office only has $5M and five people, but I have $10M and ten people, for a similar job, I am considered more powerful.

 

Here is an interesting scenario. Say we gave government employee's 1% bonuses for all the efficiency they could create in their sphere of influence. If they save $1M, we give them an extra $10K. The $990,000 savings then goes back into the economy. The idea is to replace the the power drive for money drive, to increase efficiency.

 

This efficiency would compete with power, which does better with much lower efficiency. But since we have sweetened the pot with profit sharing, there would be a competition between the ideal waste needed for power and the ideal efficiency needed for money.

 

There is not a single government agency that makes profit. This is not because it is not possible. It is because power needs inefficiency.

 

Let me give an analogy. Say one was going to war. Your opponent has an army of 1000 good men. Efficiency would bring 1100 good men to get the job done. But this tight efficiency would require a excellent general. Power would be more wasteful and bring 10,000. This way even an idiot can win with 10,000. Power was designed with boneheads in mind. The inefficiency makes it possible for bonehead to shine.

[Mr Skeptic]

A good idea, but how can we measure the efficiency of things, and the efficiency improvements that the official does? If we could do this, we could kick out the ones abusing their position. If we can't, we can't pay them based on this number.