Government and Private Enterprise: a Comparative Analysis

John Stossel authored the article Private Enterprise Does It Better. Why? As he points out, a fundamental difference is that government is largely immune to the adverse impact of functioning inefficiently. Companies which function poorly and lose money go out of business (unless bailed out by the government) but the government is protected from this effect. Government has the coercive power to raise money through taxation.

Stossel illustrates his theme with examples of better function through a willingness to go forego conventional wisdom. Real examples involving roads, traffic lights and signs help further Stossel's argument.