My country is plagued by massive, inefficient state-owned enterprises (SOEs). The state keeps losing money, and the national budget is drained by subsidies because energy SOEs are perpetually in the red. Even government insiders admit this.
The constitution mandates the existence of these SOEs, but this is paired with policies that make private competitors hard to survive. For example, competitors are often prohibited from offering lower prices than the state-run monopolies. As for China and Vietnam, they might seem "successful", but that success is built on the back of total state economic domination and the loss of individual freedom.
Power is inherently prone to corruption and abuse. I find it an insult to my dignity to have my life micromanaged by people who can't even manage a budget. Lately, we've drifted toward heavy populism and authoritarian overreach---from massive welfare handouts (politically-timed) and a "free meal" program marred by food poisoning, to state-driven village cooperatives. Add to that a mega-project to move the capital city, which is just burning through borrowed money.
Our ministry of finance is just as chaotic. They planned a VAT hike that would choke the middle class, only to back it off later, creating massive policy uncertainty. They complain about the "rich" benefiting from subsidies, yet their own bureaucracy is too incompetent to distribute welfare accurately. I don't agree with state-supported wealth accumulation---especially when government officials hold private monopolies behind the scenes---but the root of the evil is the corrupt state itself.
We have a bloated fat cabinet (49 ministries!). This giant bureaucracy is the definition of inefficiency. Despite being a developing nation, our government ignores technological integration that could make things easier and transparent. But how long can I keep blaming them? I’d rather become indifferent to their system and practice agorism.
PS: To give you perspective on the "rich" whom the government targets: the official definition of "not poor" used to justify these policies includes individuals spending as little as $1.50 per day.