Bethany McLean Quotes

As it happens, Chicago is the nation's leader in municipal privatization efforts. That's right: The city that conservatives portray as the citadel of the power-grabbing, government-growing left has been selling itself off in pieces for years. It signed a 99-year lease for the Chicago Skyway, a toll road in the city's South Side, back in 2005.

Selling public property is the true Chicago way. Had Mr. Obama not been elected president, the nation's business journals would be falling over one another to praise his city for its daring, market-friendly innovations.

It's not, 'We have a city to bid, now let's go check in with the federal government'.

For the states that take the lead on reform - asset recycling, deregulation, service innovation - the Federal Government could step back, and allow greater flexibility in how we deliver our responsibilities.

The reform of state industry, and most directly related to that, the banking sector, is enormously daunting.

I have publicly talked about Mexico's need to open ourselves up to the participation of the private sector in the energy sector, however this doesn't mean privatizing state-run companies.

The bottom line is that we have entered an age when local communities need to invest in themselves. Federal and state dollars are becoming more and more scarce for American cities. Political and civic leaders in local communities need to make a compelling case for this investment.

I've developed several serious policy proposals to create jobs, reform Washington and reduce spending.

We are shrinking the size of the federal government as a percent of our economy from over 21 percent of the economy to 19 percent of the economy. At the same time, we're growing the private economy.

Pemex becomes a productive company of the state, but it will have competition and can make associations with the private sector.

Politicians are good at saying how Government must do more, but we must also think carefully about where Government should do less.

I plan to open Mexico's energy sector to national and foreign private investment.

One of the things the government can't do is run anything. The only things our government runs are the post office and the railroads, and both of them are bankrupt.

In various countries around the world, assets that had previously been in the hands of governments were sold off to the private sector in the hope that this would lead to a more efficient allocation, that these assets would be put to better use.

I'm the guy who's started businesses, I've been a small business owner. I've employed hundreds of Pennsylvanians. I know how to get jobs moving in the private sector, rein in the excesses in Washington, and bring some balance to a town that's lost all balance.

The government of the cities is the one conspicuous failure of the United States.

Less Government in Business and More Business in Government

Colorado needs a governor who brings people together to create jobs and cut government spending.

I guess my view is I believe less governance is best governance and that government should not do what the free enterprise and private enterprise and indidividual entrepreneurship and the states can do.

Mayors, I think, tend to be more no-nonsense, and you look for economic opportunities for your communities.

As a government watchdog, I'm always looking for ways to make government smaller, more efficient, and fairer.

Our message in NSW is government don't need to run businesses that are out of date when the private sector can do that better.

America must reduce its fiscal deficit, modernize its infrastructure, and improve its schools.

We cannot afford to deliberately cripple our cities by transferring public tax dollars to private entities for benefits that are unclear at best.

Brian Mulroney came to power in 1984 and privatized Petro-Canada, brought in the GST and signed the free trade agreement with the U.S. He was a great prime minister and made bold conservative changes. That's all I want to do.