[s7khan]

If RIM is to be sold, I don't want any sale to any reasonable buyer off limits. I care about natural resources and the threat of it being exploited by foreign interests, but that's it. A foreign buyer may be better then one from Canada to help it survive and succeed.

[rdrobinson]

How can anyone say that governments don't know how to run a private business ? Dare i say the name Mitt Romney ?

People who work in public service are no different that you and me. They are people elected to office by people. You make it sound as if they are this separate group of non-humans that don't know how to do anything (well, I guess Sarah Palin falls into this category). Fact is a lot of politicians go back into the private sector after public service. Do some reading

Lol. It doesn't matter if Mitt is "business savvy" or "knows" how to run a business. The fact is, as the others have pointed out, the one and only constraint on a business and what they do or don't do with the scarce resources that have been allocated to them, are profits and -- more importantly for our purposes here -- losses. And governments, by the very definition of what a government is (e.g., thier unique ability to tax), means it DOES NOT BEND TO LOSSES LIKE MARKET INSTITUTIONS DO, thereby failing to spare the remaining resources if the consumers DO NOT SEE THE BUSINESS AS A WORTHY INVESTMENT FOR THEIR DOLLARS. Without government involvement, this means that the potential waster of resources (one who incurs losses) would be stopped dead in their tracks. Bankruptcy and sale: The capital then flows into the hands of someone who can employ it profitably...

This efficient use of capital stock is only accomplished in the market -- A market ABSENT government interference.

Maybe YOU should do some reading.