Whatever. He finally asked me to take a walk around the pond
on our farm. I didn’t really want to do it because of all the goose poop on the
bank, but he insisted, and reminded me that when I had taken on the job of
being his host, that I had agreed to explain our ways as well as I could. So we
took a walk.
He had filled a pocket with rocks from one of my wife’s dozens
of piles that she has picked up over the years. There are no natural rocks on the
farm, so they have all been collected by her.
He sailed a rock over the surface of the pond. It skipped
once and sank. “She’s going to whip your ass,” I said, “for stealing her rocks.”
“She won’t miss a few from all the thousands she has stacked
around.” He sailed another. It failed to skip even once.
“Are you kidding? She knows every one in every pile, where it
came from, and when she collected it. Besides, you’re not doing it right. You
have to bend low and get it closer to the surface.”
“Show me,” he said, handing me a rock.
“You won’t tell?”
“Heavens no.”
I bent low and sailed the rock. It skipped three times and
sank.
“Tell me,” he said as he pulled another rock from his pocket.
“Can you really run government like a business?”
The question surprised me. “Why do you ask me that?”
“Writing a report. The Elders sent me a communication saying
this orange-faced guy has them all confused.”
“What orange-faced g…, oh.”
“They aren’t sure that he is for real. They think it’s just
another Earthling television show. I must explain it all to them. So can you?
Run government like a business?”
“No.” I said.
“Why not?”
“Several reasons. First, business can operate anyway it
wishes as long as it doesn’t break the law.”
“But what about …?” He began.
“As long as it doesn’t get caught breaking a law.” I
corrected myself.
“Oh.”
“Government,” I said, “on the other hand can only operate
under specific laws that allow it to protect the public health, safety,
welfare, and morals of the people, laws that have been validated by the courts.”
“Then there is an actual law somewhere that allows the president
of your country knowingly to lie to the public in order to carry out his aims?”
I thought. “Not exactly.”
“So he can just do it anyway, without punishment?”
“That’s what elections were designed to do.”
“Back in the old days?”
I didn’t answer. After a moment, I said. “There are other
differences between business and government.”
“Such as?”
“The business model is that for my company to win, your company
must lose. Government, on the other hand should enact policies or take actions that
benefit or protect us all.”
“How’s that working for you?” he said, bending over and throwing
a stone. It bounced twice.
I veered away. “Business operates under the so-called ‘Law
of Supply and Demand’ in providing goods and services. Generally, low supply
and high demand increase price. In contrast, the greater the supply and the
lower the demand, the price tends to fall. Businesses flourish when high demand
justifies an increase in supply.”
He stopped. “But,” he said. “Didn’t your late president
Ronald Reagan say that supply creates its own demand?”
 |
| Sometimes there is the smell of sulfur in the halls of government. - C.W. |
"Reagan received a lot of bad advice,” I said. “Have you ever
heard of Oliver North?”
“So, the idea is that if we keep building things, producing
products, and providing services that nobody wants, we’ll get rich?”
“No,” I said. “We’ll eventually go bankrupt, time and time
again. Soon, nobody will lend us money anymore, nobody who is operating solely
on sound business practices.”
“That sounds reasonable,” he said. “Nobody supports a loser?”
“Uh,” I said, foreign interests might, if the rewards
outweighed the risks. It seems to be done for political ends at times, and that
blurs the proper demarcation between government and business.”
“And the ‘government the people, by the people, and for the
people,’ as you great man put it, would allow that?”
“If it has enough backing.”
He bent low and sailed a rock. It bounced four times and
sank slowly. He stood up with a bright look on his face.
“I’m beginning to see,” he said. “It’s all just a matter of
how far you're willing to bend over.”
See also:
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