Why Governments Waste Money

One unfortunate byproduct of debates about public employee unions is the tendency to disparage government employees and attribute to them character flaws that lead to inefficient government.  To be clear:  the problem originates not from the employees themselves but from the absence of competitive pressure.  Governments are no different than monopolistic companies, and absent the discipline that can only be exerted by market competitors, corporations can and do exhibit the same inefficiencies.  The problem is that from the perspective of those governed, there are no viable competitors to discipline an inefficient government.  So if your government isn't responsive, you don't really have the option of shopping elsewhere (although some States are surely testing that thesis).  I therefore do not blame the government employees for exhibiting traditional characteristics of a monopolist.  I do, however, blame those who denigrate private sector monopolies at every opportunity while simultaneously pretending that the government monopoly has some mystical ability to transcend basic principles of industrial organization.