Mark, while ever the media dahhhling remains telegenic he’ll have possession of the keys to the castle. You certainly have a Sisyphean task on your hands trying to stimulate any government dead to philosophy. It’s a bit like addressing the cast of Home and Away and talking about acting skills.

You have done a good job cataloguing the shortcomings in the Sunshine State but relying on the present camorra to steer the ship away from the rocks is a bit rich. You have to think like a politician. The present mob is comprised “can’t do” people and not “can do”. Given our politician’s proclivity for travel it might be more rewarding for you to talk about the design of travel brochures. I’m sure you’ll get their attention.

Mark, you’d do well to remember that no one has ever proven beyond reasonable doubt that our current crop of alleged politicians are visionaries.

Many large corporations are focused on the business of operating and growing wealth for its owners and shareholders. Almost always this profit driven regimen destroys many of those assets that are not specifically owned by the corporation but are considered the responsibility of the Government. They have no meaningful obligation to consider the broader impacts their business has. Specifically the environment comes to mind, where corporation’s productivity usually pollutes, degrades, devalues or destroys natural and human environments.

I can’t imagine a Government whose purpose is to be more business like! Imagine a place where the corporations were the law makers, where the corporations were the caretakers of our communities?

To me at least the Queensland Government has become nothing more than a business designed to maximize its own profits. I can’t remember when we all agreed that Governments were asked to get profit driven, inventing new and innovative ways of ripping money out of the Queensland “share holder”.

I say the Queensland Government is well beyond the median point of business verses social responsibility. The notion that the Queensland Government drive further into the business model has me running for a tin hat and a copy of the constitution.

Although the business of government is too complicated to be operated simply as a corporation (with appropriate synergies)the idea of streamlining the public service for efficiency is most important.
From its never ending list of failures the Beattie government has shown itself to be hopelessly incompetent. However the media in this state has just let Mr Beattie get away with it. For example the ABC radio news (early on the 7/6 I think) led with a statement from Mr Beattie; something to the effect of how competent Ms Bligh had shown herself to be from this budget. Was this statement important? The Courier Mail has not challenged this government sufficiently either. We are left with little proper analysis of this budget and so things will go on as before.

A little uncomfortable with business as the sole model for government. But this article asks some key strategic questions. Anyone who wants to actually take over and run a government (instead of just complaining and 'protesting') will have to have the answers.

The question of debt is a crucial one. Anyone proposing large public expenditure is going to have to convince people that the long-term burden is worth it. That will include saying things like:

"These things you say you want will cost so many dollars a year in higher taxes, higher interest rates or forgone tax increases. Let's figure out just how much you really want to pay"

Truly empowering people has to include helping them to see that government is not a magic box that things come out of for free. I'm NOT arguing for small government here at all - what I am saying is we have to understand the real costs and benefits of what we want the government to do.

Sage, assuming your reference to the 'media daaaahling' means Qld Premier Peter Beattie? If so, I think you are wrong, the public has reached its limit with Beattie - the gloss has worn off. The Qld Health scandal has turned people off for good.

Conservative disunity in Qld might mean Labor limps on with a much smaller majority, but Beattie's personal authority is lost.

Of course the ALP ministers won't listen to the article, but that's hardly the point. People who are unhappy with the system need to start sharpening up our thought, and learning exactly what it is that governments do. Juggling the sorts of questions in this article is a great start.

Business 101 only says that a company should have long-term debt because the nominal interest payable is tax deductible. As a state does not pay tax, this does not apply.

Even with the excessive tax deduction that it enjoys (equity says that in times like these of perpetual inflation, it should only be able to deduct the real interest cost, not the nominal cost), a prudent business will only borrow money if the borrowing will generate enough addtional revenue to service and amortise the debt.

The main reason that governments (particularly left-wing ones) love to borrow is that their time horizon extends no further than the next election. In that period only the interest on the borrowing need be paid.

The best way that has ever been found to keep governments honest is to adhere to the gold standard, as governments have always had problems printing gold. At least we have the next best thing, a world of nation states with different sovereign currencies, and governments cannot print foreign exchange.

There are signs that the americans, whose level of financial profligacy leaves everyone else for dead, may soon follow Japan and introduce deflation to solve its foreign debt problems. This would result in all debtors being cashed in and the rest of the world return to the strictures of Mr. Micawber.

Qld Labor in government are a bunch of snobby, cut throat professional elites. In opposition they are everyone's mate.