It appears that once again, there is one sane voice in the TOPIX wilderness.

Dandy Don Reply » Report Abuse Judge it! #62 13 min ago "it is jay. check his blog. there is a basic misunderstanding in the piece. i can understand why he makes the mistake, he has not held public office. in the piece he uses the expression "run like a business". you cannot run government like a business. if a need arises such as a flood, there is no choice you must respond whatever the cost. there is no such thing as "it's too expensive, you must respond immediately. if an emergency arises or if tax collections are slow in government you must go out and borrow money, to maintain basic services you don't have the option of delay or defer. as i said it is a common error. "(Feller) I will say it again, this is not Jay. I don't know the guy, nor have I ever met him. In response to the quote above by Sandy: Your comment is the mentality as to why we are where we are today. Business and Government CAN be run very similarly, although not exactly alike. The biggest difference is that business doesn't have the authority to force customers to pay (taxes). Both should operate on the assumption that if you don't have any money, you shouldn't spend any. Yes, I understand that emergencies happen, but that's why you have contingency funds or insurance. I also am not saying there shouldn't ever be exceptions, but we should not operate beyond our means on a regular basis. Individual families can't prosper very long while constantly running at a deficit. Why should government be allowed to do so when the very people who support it can't? Do as I say, not as I do. You are saying that gov't can't be run like a business. I am saying that maybe it should. ("Dandy Don")