Most of the energy of political work is devoted to correcting the effects of mismanagement of government.
Milton Friedman
[I’m tempted to claim that the statement would be more accurate if “mismanagement of” were removed from the above statement. However, my respect for Mr. Friedman is such that I am hesitant to make that claim without his concurrence.–Joe]
No, I think you’re correct, however Mr. Friedman’s statement is focused. Since government effects everyone under its authority, and there is a wide spectrum of opinion regarding regulation of the government — in a free society at least — then government is perpetually mismanaged since it must service conflicting directives.
This is precisely why it is such a bad idea to turn over so much responsibility to the government. It is an industry without competition and mostly immune to market forces, so there is no pricing to control what it produces or gauge the value of its product. It always over-produces!