"Let's run government like a business."

Here's the best, most cogent response to this I've seen in a long time. It's from an editorial in the Economist in January 2012 responding to a debate about the profitability of Amtrak, the government-run U.S. passenger rail company.

"But framing the discussion around a weird notion of "profitability" isn't particularly helpful. Here's a good rule of thumb: if a government entity's profitability is the main thing you're worried about, it probably shouldn't be a government entity. Nobody worries about the military or the courts being "profitable". It's probably not the right question about Amtrak, either."

Yes, government functions can be run in business-like fashion. Efficiency is good. But to assume that all functions of government should make a profit defeats the whole purpose of getting government involved in the first place. There.