by Ken Vincent, Featured Contributor
WE HAVE BEEN hearing the theory that companies can be too big to fail. It has been applied to banks, brokerage 
firms, and manufacturers. The theory was used as an excuse for government to bail them out of messes that bad leadership got them into. But, I am of the opinion that the theory is a crock. I do think a company can be too big to NOT fail though. When a company bureaucracy becomes so large and so complex, and so entrenched in self preservation that the employees and investors are trampled, then the company is too big to succeed.
But, dare we say it? Can government be too big to fail, or perhaps too big to succeed? If we look closely at the explosive growth of our federal government (and some state governments too) one has to wonder if that is a much bigger problem than a large bank.
I believe that government is too big to succeed when:
- The top elected officials can not, or claim they can not, know what is happening in key elements and segments of the government;
- Elected officials and/or their hired bureaucrats hide behind the 5th amendment;
- Elected officials are more concerned about being re-elected than making the tough decisions;
- Lies become the order of the day in any crisis;
- The people accountable for the prudent use of the countries resources can’t pass a budget, or control spending and simply borrow more and print more to sustain their spending drunkenness;
- The constitution and bill of rights are trampled and ignored because an official thinks it expedient to do so;
- When those that represent the citizenry put their personal welfare and interests ahead of the best interests of the citizenry;
- When our elected officials pass laws that favor them or laws that exempt them;
- And the list can go on and on….
Do you think our government has become too large to succeed? What other signs do you see that such a condition exists?
