The problem with running the government like a business

The idea that the government should be run more like a business isn’t new. But with two businessmen, Donald Trump and Elon Musk, now taking a proverbial chainsaw to the federal bureaucracy all in the name “efficiency,” this theory is being put to the test. While it’s an appealing idea, Philip Joyce, professor of public policy at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy, said governments can’t afford to take risks the way businesses can. On the show today, Joyce explains the origins of the idea that the government should be run like a business, how we define “success” differently for the two entities, and how the way Trump and Musk do business is showing up in the White House.

Then, we’ll break down the high stakes of today’s special elections in Wisconsin and Florida. Plus, reflections on serendipitous moments in walkable communities and what we gain by admitting we were wrong.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• “Why Running the Government Like a Business Would Be a Disaster” from The New York Times
• “The US Government Is Not a Startup” from Wired
• “The US Postal Service has been struggling for years. Now Trump’s talking about privatizing it” from AP News
• “DOGE wants businesses to run government services ‘as much as possible’” from The Washington Post
• “UPDATE: RECOVER Long COVID pathobiology grants restored” from The Sick Times
• “NIH restores some long COVID grants” from C&EN
• “What to Watch in Wisconsin’s Supreme Court Election and Florida’s Special Elections” from The New York Times
• “What to watch for Tuesday in Wisconsin’s high-stakes Supreme Court race and special elections in Florida” from CNN Politics
• “Control of the Wisconsin Supreme Court is at stake in race that’s drawn powerful political interests” from AP News
• “Volume 52 | Issue 1 | February 2025” from the American Ethnological Society

Got a question or comment for the hosts? Email makemesmart@marketplace.org or leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART.