America, Inc.

As we know, Hewlett Packard recently dismissed Carly Fiorina, their chairman and CEO. Their new non-executive chairman of the board said, "We are looking to accelerate the growth of the company". So they have explained that the reason they decided on this change is because they wanted to achieve more growth for the company. This interests me because it seems to be analogous to something that touches all our lives.

It is generally well-accepted that the GOP, which controls all three branches of government, is the party of big business. They are bankrolled by it and represent its interests first. Cabinet posts and other policy-making positions are given to big campaign contributors from the business world, and it can be said that the republican leadership comes from the business world. With that in mind, it is no stretch to conclude that those same business leaders approach organizational management of the country from a business perspective. The country, to them, is not a society of people, rather, it is an organization designed to operate like any other business, with management (the government), and labor (the taxpayers). The taxpayers are also their customers, a situation not unlike the old "company store" from years gone by (do those still exist?). There are suppliers at home and abroad, and of course a whole lot of marketing (that is, propaganda). There are also the stockholders - those who have paid big money to hire the CEO and management they want to run the organization the way they want it run, and they expect a return on their investment - and that, O brothers and sisters, is where the "growth" part from the Hewlett Packard story come in.

Growth. Expansion. The "ownership society" with the goal of owning... Everything. Growth, marketed with advertising campaign slogans like "freedom" and "democracy", formerly inalienable right now turned into advertising tools in the quest for profitable growth. The company offers enticing incentives to customers, such as "tax cuts" marketed like payday loan schemes - "Get money now, don't worry that it will have to be paid back later!"

Unfortunately, if America, Inc. is run like a business, it is run like a Bush business, with massive failure as a result and the taxpayers left holding the bag. Running government based on stockholder returns, instead of for the benefit of its citizens is bad enough. Failing at it - such as the current overseas operation which has gone way over budget - well, maybe it means that the current CEO should get the boot. Like they said in The Godfather: nothing personal... it's just business.