Government vs. corporation

[Srikumar <Srikumar@simexmail.com.sg>]

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This comparison of government and corporation has been going on for
sometime
and here is my two cents worth on that. If any country is run like a
corporation, Singapore is.  Here the government really treats other
countries as competition and is obsessed with world rankings and
comparative
studies.

I think Vamsi's comments about competition having a check on the powers
of
the government, forcing them to give good service holds here. But we
have to
keep in mind that threat from other countries is quite serious for a
city-state like Singapore. Here people are very mobile and could easily
choose to exercise their option of migrating to another country, leaving
it
without its only resource, its people.

In India one recent phenomenon, especially in the southern states shows
how
such competition could have a good effect. Naidu in AP created a sort of

competition amongst the chief ministers of the southern states in
attracting
investments, improving infrastructure etc. which I think has shown some
results.

However, I still believe there are differences between a government and
a
corporation and both cannot be run the same way. Purely because of the
concept of national boundaries and the fact that you are born a citizen
of a
particular nation, because a nation has to provide for all its citizens
and
cannot make a choice on who it will keep and who it will not. In a
corporation, I can say that I will provide you with benefits only if you
are
productive, if you are not I will have to terminate your services.  What
can
the nation do in a similar situation? Nation is more like a family. If
your
kid is born with some congenital problems which prevent him from leading
a
normal productive life, you will still provide for him, you will not
say,
let me cut my losses and quit this business of parenting!!


Regards

Sri



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