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Agreed. The core thing that any business has to do is make a product that people will pay for at a price that at least breaks even. You can't sell salvation to

Agreed. The core thing that any business has to do is make a product that people will pay for at a price that at least breaks even. You can't sell salvation to a person that doesn't have any spare cash. This sort of thing is the role of governments, not businesses. The core problem you have in the US is that your government is one of those incumbent inefficient dinosaurs that doesn't really do much of anything useful any more but is so big that it's hard to topple. Any solutions to the problems discussed in this article is inevitably going to look like politics, not business. This is a problem because in the US, it's "cool" to say "pfft, politics, it's awful why bother?" which means that competent people are driven into business instead.

cmollis 12y ago
absolutely true. For the poor and the elderly, the money comes from the government (as you noted). Tapping into that should be straightforward, but it must be incredibly difficult. Otherwise, it seems that VC's would have invested heavily into tapping that. I suspect that the last thing the government wants is (more) scrutiny about its business practices from the private sector.
oftenwrong 12y ago
Why does the US government insist on being an "inefficient dinosaur"? Stacks of paper forms processed by hand? It seems as though the process is designed to be as inefficient as is possible. Perhaps the US government delays paying the war veterans on purpose because it saves money. 9 months of being unemployed and disabled with possible mental trauma from war: >In the past 5 years, the number of vets who’ve died before their claim has even been processed has tripled. ...can be restated: >In the past 5 years, the number of vets to whom the US government has avoided paying disability (due to their death) has tripled.
- count 12y ago
  Disability benefits are paid to spouses on death, in many cases, so, no, it can't be stated that way.

cmollis 12y ago

absolutely true. For the poor and the elderly, the money comes from the government (as you noted). Tapping into that should be straightforward, but it must be incredibly difficult. Otherwise, it seems that VC's would have invested heavily into tapping that. I suspect that the last thing the government wants is (more) scrutiny about its business practices from the private sector.

oftenwrong 12y ago

Why does the US government insist on being an "inefficient dinosaur"? Stacks of paper forms processed by hand? It seems as though the process is designed to be as inefficient as is possible. Perhaps the US government delays paying the war veterans on purpose because it saves money. 9 months of being unemployed and disabled with possible mental trauma from war: >In the past 5 years, the number of vets who’ve died before their claim has even been processed has tripled. ...can be restated: >In the past 5 years, the number of vets to whom the US government has avoided paying disability (due to their death) has tripled.

count 12y ago
Disability benefits are paid to spouses on death, in many cases, so, no, it can't be stated that way.