(The following editorial appeared on the Independent Record website on June 15, 2011.)
HELENA, Mont. — Lots of folks are fond of saying that government needs to be run more like a business, and we agree — to a point. When it comes to finding efficiencies, streamlining operations and working within a budget and tight deadlines, both the public and private sectors should seek the same outcomes.
But there are certain functions of government, or government agencies, that simply aren’t going to be profitable, but that should be undertaken anyway as part of the cost of binding the country together and offering the same services to everyone. It’s got to cost more than the price of a 44-cent stamp to deliver a first-class letter from the most remote Alaskan hamlet to a condo in a Miami highrise, but the cost of a stamp should be the same for everyone.
Another example is passenger rail service. According to news reports last month, Amtrak expects to lose $506 million for the year ending this September, with losses growing to $616 million next year. What that means is the federal government makes up the 16 percent operating loss that Amtrak reports on its annual expenses of nearly $4 billion.
Full editorial: Independent Record