Return on Investment is Not Government’s Goal

“When you invest your own money, your biggest concern is that you’ll lose the investment. To relieve you of that, you research a company before lending it your money or buying its stock. You make your decision on the likelihood and the amount of money you will earn from the investment, and whether or not you can afford the loss of your investment. This is your natural right to choose to do with your money as you wish. But when the government invests money for you, its decision-making is not grounded in free choice or in sound business judgment. Its decision is grounded in power and politics. The power is its ability to extract tax dollars from you even if you profoundly disagree with the way it will spend what it has extracted. The power is the government’s ability to borrow cash in your name, even if you disagree with the borrowing. Since the government isn’t risking its own money, but yours, it needn’t worry about affording a loss. Stated differently, the government doesn’t care if it loses your money. It only cares if it loses your votes and thus loses power. Its goal is not a return on investment; its goal is staying in power.” –columnist Judge Andrew Napolitano

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