The tragic collapse of the bridge in Minnesota has Thomas Sowell thinking about the problem of incentives for government officials. They like spending money on glamorous things that get them publicity and tend to neglect spending money on other things, such as routine maintenance. His column is here.
If a similar accident had occurred in a privately-owned enterprise, the Michael Moore types would be yelling about how dangerous it is to allow greedy private owners to run things used by the public. The trouble isn’t greed, but rather one of incentives. Private owners are less likely to neglect the upkeep of assets than are politicians. We will always have some accidents, but private ownership minimizes them.
