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From: robinson@ubc-ean.CDN (Jim Robinson)
Newsgroups: can.politics
Subject: Crown corporations
Message-ID: <740@ubc-ean.CDN>
Date: Mon, 13-Aug-84 23:19:30 EDT
Article-I.D.: ubc-ean.740
Posted: Mon Aug 13 23:19:30 1984
Date-Received: Tue, 14-Aug-84 03:03:14 EDT
Organization: UBC EAN, Vancouver, B.C., Canada
Lines: 54


Mark Hume writes 

 > Certainly when the government acts as if it were the private sector,
 > that is with Crown corporations, it has the same ability to create wealth
 > as does the private sector.

Unfortuneately, that is all the government is doing in such situations, namely
acting. It is almost impossible for the government, which is not constrained
by the market place ( as far as being competetive and having to have to 
justify their actions to sharaholders ), to  operate in the private sector
as if it were a private entity. They KNOW that they cannot go bankrupt, and
that knowledge almost ensures that they will not be as efficient as a 
private sector company. If things go bad for them they merely reach a little
deeper into the infinite well ( at least they think it is ) that is the 
taxpayers pocket.                    

I have long come to the conclusion that the purpose of a Crown corporation is
NOT to make money ( and thus create wealth ), but rather to carry out 
some other specific goal. e.g. Petrocan's goal is supposedly to help
Canadians have some control over their oil resources and not to leave the
multinationals with all the  power. ( It certainly is NOT to give Canadian
car drivers a break since they charge the same as the other oil companies
but do not pay a cent in taxes )

An incident which examplifies (sp) very well the government's inability to 
operate as a private sector entity is the bonuses paid to the Canadair
and De Havilland  executives who helped those companies rack up incredible
losses. ( I believe the government was forced to give Canadair an infusion 
of over a billion [ yes that's a 'b' not a 'm' ] dollars ). The justification
for this obscene use of my money and yours was that the bonses were needed
to keep theses executives from going into the private sector . Well, I
don't know about you, but if I were involved in a company in the private 
sector the LAST people I would want running it would be those guys.
[ As an aside note that De Havilland was purchased by the government in 1974
and was supposed to be sold when a responsible Canadian buyer could be found
- guess there ain't too many responsible types out there ]

At any rate if anybody out there has figures on the profits and losses of
the 400 or so Crown corporations I would be very interested in seeing them.
My underlying interest is in seeing how much they cost the taxpayer every year.

By the way, don't forget that the post office is a Crown corporation and
it sure isn't a model of efficiency.

P.S. Glad to see that there are people out there. In my humble opinion,
one of the problems with this country is that the people have abdicated
their right to have a say in how things should be run. They are quite 
content to sit back and let the politicians do it, and since their main purpose
in life is to be (re)elected and NOT to manage the country in a fair and       
efficient manner it is no surprise that Canada has got the problems it has.
So let's hear it from any and all out there - the Socialists, the Capitalists,
the Communists, and the Libertarians ( and anyone else ).