Should your agency be run more like a business?

Every once in a while the argument surfaces that government should be run like a business.

Well, one federal entity already is run like a business: the U.S. Postal Service.

And now the Postal Inspector General, after digging around at the request of Sen. Susan Collins, R.-Maine, has come up with one tidbit that does, in fact, make USPS sound a bit like a major corporation.

According to the Postal IG, USPS pays for 100 percent of the health benefits it provides to its senior executives—all 835 of them. That’s a sweet executive perk in any sector.

But before you react, consider this: Today’s USPS management in all likelihood is moving a lot more quickly than the old Post Office would or could have moved to meet today’s changing market requirements. One could argue that the healthcare perk is just one tool in recruiting and keeping the best top execs.

Do you think your agency could or would benefit from being run more like a business? Would it make things better or worse?