Recently I was asked a series of questions by a journalist wishing to write an article about the nation’s current economic situation.  What follows in this article and others following is one of those questions and my answer to it.

Is it important to consider the plan’s ROI?  How is that measured?

For the private sector there is an ROI that can be calculated.  There is no such thing for government projects.  Once it is recognized that a government spending project is not a voluntary decision by individuals to government but instead is coercive, is a taking, the opportunity costs are higher than the return the government could generate.  Governments do not care about efficiency, about maximizing shareholder returns, about quality.