Can the efficiency of a corporation actually save a massive government?
With US debt reaching $36 trillion, proponents of the DOGE initiative aim to slash $2 trillion from annual spending. But while business logic promises results, the fundamental purpose of government is not to turn a profit, but to maintain a competitive marketplace.
The debate over applying corporate logic to the public sector often hinges on the fundamental difference in institutional purpose. As management professor Henry Mintzberg argues, businesses exist to supply goods and services within a competitive marketplace, whereas the primary role of government—beyond protection from threats—is to ensure that same marketplace remains responsible and competitive. This distinction makes the profit motive, the primary driver of innovation in the private sector, difficult to replicate in a landscape shaped by political considerations and competing public interests.
However, applying specific business tools can yield significant efficiency gains. Jesse Samberg, a former director of shared services at New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), demonstrates this through the lens of operational modernization. During his 30-year career at the MTA, Samberg transitioned paper-based property records into digital formats. This allowed the agency to treat its multi-billion-dollar real estate portfolio as a business asset, identifying opportunities for leasing and sales that were previously hidden by administrative obscurity.
Even the seemingly simple mechanics of transaction costs can benefit from a business-oriented perspective. At the MTA, the transition from cash to the MetroCard revealed the hidden expenses of traditional methods. While cash appeared free, the actual cost of collecting, transporting, and sorting it in Queens was estimated between 5% and 8%. By embracing the 2% transaction fee of credit cards, the agency could modernize fare collection. While the scale of government spending remains massive—accounting for 35% of US GDP—the application of shared services and data-driven management suggests a middle way between bureaucracy and enterprise.
Source: The Problem With Trying to Run Government Like a Business
