Starting at minute 19, check out this brilliant discussion between Jeff Bezos and Andrew Ross Sorkin. I think we can learn a lot from the interview, and government would be better served if more of Bezos’ mentality were injected into it.
Bezos makes many important points.
Some fields of business are heavily dependent on government handouts or regulation that stifles competition and ensures profits generated from the public purse— even irrespective of public value. These groups lobby heavily to ensure that system continues, creating a false narrative. In contrast, other businesses truly compete in the free market, and have generated massive societal good. These business are often only hampered by illogical government restrictions.
Bezos makes an important point on whether we should have any tax at all on the bottom 50% of earners in America. It generates a pittance (3% of the budget) with great pain to those individuals. Better to remove it entirely.
Bezos is correct that there is massive— nearly incomprehensible— waste in government spending. Perhaps in some departments the majority of the budget is wasted. And yet, there is no incentive for (and strong pressures against) this reform. Many seem incapable of seeing that not using money optimally is a form of waste.
Bezos is right about the Washington Post. A newspaper that loses money is one that is not relevant. It is not doing the best job for its readers. The converse is not true: a newspapers that makes money is not perfect— it can do better, but losing money is a non-starter.
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