Reason Writers Around Town: Matt Welch at CNN.com on the Lesson of $16 Muffins

Writing at CNN.com, Reason Editor in Chief Matt Welch explains why he wants to be stuffin' the government's muffins. Excerpt:

The lesson of government waste, whether on $16 muffins or $535 million loan guarantees to solar power companies or $48 billion in "improper" Medicare payments, is one worth relearning every day.

Managers whose budgets do not depend on customer satisfaction and who do not face competitive pressure in the marketplace, will not, on balance, spend their money wisely. Vendors selling to those managers know that price matters much less than it does to, say, Wal-Mart. And anywhere there is political urgency and official involvement high up the command chain, conditions will begin resembling a gold rush. […]

There is no such thing as war without the brutal, violent death of innocents, including children. Similarly, there is no such thing as government spending without gobs of disgusting waste, graft and corruption. It's all cooked right into the system.

Read the whole thing here.