One thought on “The Private Business of the Public Government”
It’s really important to acknowledge that state involvement isn’t just negative and isn’t just regulations. As for why the government’s failures are well-known and its successes are not, I’m sure that a lack of effort publicizing the successes is part of the problem, but hostility in the business press would be at least as important. I mean, why do we all think that the government is the enemy of business? Because business people and the business press put out that message all the time.
Firms like Tesla and the big pharma companies couldn’t continue double-charging American consumers for their (often overpriced) goods if those consumers knew the truth, so the businesses have a vested interest in pushing a self-serving narrative instead. Put simply, there’s way more money to be made with the “private enterprise triumphs over government control!” narrative than with the “businesses would be puny and weak without government help!” narrative. The latter sounds like [gasp!] an argument for higher taxes …
It’s really important to acknowledge that state involvement isn’t just negative and isn’t just regulations. As for why the government’s failures are well-known and its successes are not, I’m sure that a lack of effort publicizing the successes is part of the problem, but hostility in the business press would be at least as important. I mean, why do we all think that the government is the enemy of business? Because business people and the business press put out that message all the time.
Firms like Tesla and the big pharma companies couldn’t continue double-charging American consumers for their (often overpriced) goods if those consumers knew the truth, so the businesses have a vested interest in pushing a self-serving narrative instead. Put simply, there’s way more money to be made with the “private enterprise triumphs over government control!” narrative than with the “businesses would be puny and weak without government help!” narrative. The latter sounds like [gasp!] an argument for higher taxes …