The Business of Government
Historical Archive
This article is preserved as part of the historical record of this blog. It reflects the author's views at the time of publication. The content has not been substantively altered, although the HTML, accessibility and formatting have been updated to meet modern web standards.
Amid the din of economic nonsense being bandied about since 2008, there has been the persistent refrain that the States should be run more like a business. If only more business people were in charge to wield their business acumen, we would have this country in shape in no time. But is that really a good solution?
Businesses seek primarily to increase their revenues and profits. Government revenue depends upon taxation. Government accumulates tax money by collecting it from the productive earnings of Islanders through its statutory powers. At the time of writing, the Government of Jersey collected roughly £600 million annually. I argued that increasing government revenue was not the challenge.
Businesses sell products and services to willing customers. I contrasted this with government, arguing that its principal outputs were regulation, bureaucracy, taxation, welfare administration and enforcement. My view was that Jersey already had more than enough of these activities.
I argued instead for greater individual freedom: the ability of people to live their lives without unnecessary government coercion, provided they did not initiate force or fraud against others.
In my view, government should not regard itself as a growth industry. Its primary purpose should be to protect liberty rather than continually expanding its size, expenditure and influence.
I also argued that governments do not create sustainable employment through stimulus programmes. Apart from directly employing people, government can only redistribute resources that would otherwise remain in the private economy. Long-term employment, I contended, is created by businesses rather than government programmes.
My conclusion was that Jersey did not require more stimulus, more taxation or additional economic planning. Instead, it needed a smaller government focused upon protecting liberty while leaving productive enterprise to the private sector.
Historical Archive Update
This page was updated on 27 July 2026. The content has been preserved as originally published. This update was undertaken solely to modernise the HTML markup, improve accessibility, correct obvious spelling mistakes and grammatical slips, update obsolete links where appropriate, and bring the page into line with current web standards.
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