When Rick Snyder became the governor of Michigan in 2011, he famously labeled the citizens of Michigan as “customers” and set about to run the state “like a business”. This approach to governing has had tragic impacts on our state. In their fervor to save money, the corporatists that run our state have driven our education system into the ground and given us such devastating legacies as the Flint Water Crisis.
Now, Donald Trump is poised to do the same for the entire country:
President Trump plans to unveil a new White House office on Monday with sweeping authority to overhaul the federal bureaucracy and fulfill key campaign promises — such as reforming care for veterans and fighting opioid addiction — by harvesting ideas from the business world and, potentially, privatizing some government functions.
The White House Office of American Innovation, to be led by Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and senior adviser, will operate as its own nimble power center within the West Wing and will report directly to Trump. Viewed internally as a SWAT team of strategic consultants, the office will be staffed by former business executives and is designed to infuse fresh thinking into Washington, float above the daily political grind and create a lasting legacy for a president still searching for signature achievements. […]
“We should have excellence in government,” Kushner said Sunday in an interview in his West Wing office. “The government should be run like a great American company. Our hope is that we can achieve successes and efficiencies for our customers, who are the citizens.”
Be afraid, America. Be VERY afraid. All you have to do is look to the formerly great state of Michigan for all the lessons you need to show you how tragically flawed this approach is. It sets government up for failure and the impacts will invariably felt by the most vulnerable citizens. Poor people. Sick people. Elderly people. Children. Prison inmates. The list goes on and on. Those with the least – both in terms of resources and political capital – will be run over in the corporate-driven zeal to give massive tax breaks to corporations and the wealthy at the expense of their lives and their personal pursuits of happiness.
