If a corporation has only one customer (the federal government), then why

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isn't that corporation simply part of the government, rather than a private corporation?

[RagingInMiami]

1. There is no oversight

There is no obligation to provide public records. They don't have to answer to "the people", which lately is just a myth anyway.

And if they were part of the government, they probably wouldn't qualify for all that corporate welfare.

[Solo_in_MD]

6. Contracting out is not inherently bad

It depends what gets sent out...

Commercially available goods and services should be bought and not done in house unless it makes economic sense. Contracting out decision authority on the other hand is a bad thing (and against the law). It is the out contracting that supports UARCs and other ways to bring in academics and other outsiders into Government procurements.

Gore was not the only guy trying to tame the bureaucracy, it started before he was VP and is still on going. The result is a dramatic downsizing in the DoD and elsewhere within the Federal Gov. Not downplaying his role, he was a strong support of greater efficiency, but he was no more the primary source for it than he was the inventor of the internet. Oddly enough, one of biggest supporters these days for some of the things Gore was pushing is Rummie

[mattclearing]

2. Because the Government was too inefficient to do it themselves.

They let contractors fight over it and award to the lowest and/or most suitable vendor.

This was a big part of Al Gore's re-inventing Government plan...to get rid of the $60 hammer syndrome.

Too bad Cheney took his place and gave all the work to Halliburton subsidiaries.

[ieoeja]

3. Only in politics can you get away with saying ...

"I can not make this entity more efficient. So I am going to just hire someone else to do all the work instead. Sure, it means additional overhead. But they are more competent than I am, so ultimately the stockholders save."

[politicaholic]

4. Then they would have to give 9 year old Indonesian kids fed health insur..

on top of that the corporations wouldn't be able to donate to all of the PACs.

[The Witch]

5. I. Love. That. Poster.

:loveya:

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7. Thanks - please distribute widely