Private Sector vs Government? .. Economic Growth Argument!

Republican pundits and other so called conservatives in the media, claim a sacred and rigid demarcation between Private Corporate Investments and Government Investments, when they postulate that private business activity is the only means to economic growth and prosperity. I am sure private corporation business activity is the preferred model for a Capitalist Democracy. But is it purely true, or a more idealized expectation? I am a small business man and a true corporatist, and all things being equal, the private corporation model is practical and long term, although, I have a couple of general questions and misgivings.


The misgivings I have against the republican dogma of the role of government arises when it seems blindly political and irrational. Take the issue of required spending on our National Defense. Republicans applaud what they term a strong defense, and are mostly in favor of increased defense spending. Most Americans, Liberal, Conservative, and/or Independent, agree with the reasonable and necessary spending levels, billions of dollars, for our National Defense. Now let us examine the expenditures and the impact on our economy. First and foremost, who benefits directly from the expenditures? The many private corporations who are collectively classified as Defense Contractors: Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, General Electric, Halliburton, Sierra Nevada Corporation, to name a few; and the hundreds of supporting professional services companies. For example, defense contractor Lockheed Martin, a private corporation, also provides business services for the US Departments of Commerce, Education, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, IRS, U.S. Postal Service etc.


Do republicans believe these defense contractors, these private corporations, are an extension of the Executive Branch of our Government, or the other two [2] Branches of our Government? Why do the Republicans pretend that No Real business activity of significant economic value and benefit occurs, when our Government invests in required obligations, in this case, our National Defense? When private sector firms perform these business activities for our Government, do the mindless media pundits ever consider the positive impact on the economic activity and employment status of the country? Why are the Democrats so dormant on such issues and slow to clarify such obvious facts? 


The republicans have no difficulty in manufacturing fictitious outrage as well as blatantly distorting facts. Remember the last congressional elections [November, 2010], the Democrats allowed the Tea Party Republicans [Note: There were no Tea Party Democratic candidates, an interesting fact] to upstage the whole electorate, by presenting themselves as a new political constituency outraged with the direction of the country, and the dormant and docile Democrats never provided a counter movement or even attempted to clarify to the electorate, that these were mere reconfigured 'same old' crafty Republicans. Case in point, imagine former House Majority Leader Richard [Dick] Arney [The Godfather of No-Regulations] and former Senator Philip "Phil" Gramm [The Bishop of financial services deregulated] both Texas Republicans, two among the many republicans who had just run the US economy into the ground, virtually decimating our way of life, evolve as Tea Party activists, and the electorate accepting them as the bearers of new ideas and believable alternative to the new administration, who are still trying to solve problem they had just inherited!!


Within the context of 'Private Sector vs Government? .. Economic Growth Argument', take a note of these questions: Which Private Sector Corporations and their Investments can be credited for the creation of:

1. Our Advanced Technological Infrastructure:  Internet, Wireless Communication Network, GPS, etc, that we all take for granted?
2. Our Physical Infrastructure: Inter-State Highway System, and other Transportation Systems, in general, the foundation of Commerce and Economic activity?
3. And the Maintenance of Required Components for Our National Defense, the basis of our cherished Freedom and Liberty?

I hope genuine answers to these question reveal the true inter-connectedness of the subject of this blog posting. The simplistic claims by so-called conservative pundits and operatives, for the sole reliance on Private Sector, for all the economic activity and growth in our capitalist democracy, boarders on delusion in some cases and outright dishonest proclamations, as well as political grandstanding. As this short excerpt delineates, the Synergy between Government and Private sector is the practical truth, and the obvious tenets that have always been clear, because all of us participate in the public-private partnerships. 


I am tempted to end this posting, with this observation: I have never heard of Microsoft Corporation buying an M2 Bradley Tank for their executive commuting, and/or buying a B-2 Spirit Stealth Airplane [Bomber] for just-in-time shipping of their software products and services. The M2 Bradley Tank order will go to BAE Systems Land and Armaments Corporation, and Northrop Grumman will be delighted for B-2 Spirit Stealth Airplane order. Both fictitious but illustrative purchases will be very profitable to the private corporations and will go a long way to contribute to economic growth! There you have it, we do not need the government,.. private sector to the rescue,..wow.... really!!  How ridiculous is the observation? One might surmise, but remember for our national defense, these are some of the procurement required to be made by our Government!


Let us all be intelligent enough to ignore the simplistic slogans from the uninformed Republican ideologues and hysterical pundits in the media; but remember to cherish Our Exceptional Country, Our Constitutionally Framed Government, and lets keep that in mind.....!!