Government Incompetence
Walter E. Williams is writing about federal government incompetence but the principle he explores applies to all levels of government. The private sector, because of competition, is inherently more efficient than government will ever be. The following quote concerns specifically the response to the hurricanes last summer. Comparing government’s response to the private sector:
Hillsdale College professor of economics Robert Murphy points to some of FEMA’s stupidity in response to Hurricane Katrina, which includes “delaying firefighters two days in Atlanta hotels to receive sexual-harassment training and watch videos on the history of FEMA while people were dying in New Orleans.”
By contrast, private firms like Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club and Home Depot had trucks on the road immediately after the hurricane. Stores even gave away items like chain saws and boots for rescue workers, sheets and clothes for shelters, and water and ice for the public. Wal-Mart was so efficient that there was talk among some Louisiana officials of letting Wal-Mart take over FEMA’s job and a suggestion that Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott run FEMA. Freeman editor Sheldon Richman says the latter suggestion misses a very important point. Wal-Mart was effective because it was not a government agency.
The current debate raging in this state about the repair and maintenance backlog in the education department is a local example. Who really doubts that the DOE is wasting money? Anyone who thinks that government is using the public’s money in the best way possible just doesn’t understand the nature of government.
Whole article here.