If you watch Hulu, you may have seen previews for "Downsized", a reality TV show about a formerly rich family who are now on food stamps, and taking odd jobs and dumpster diving just to pay the mortgage on their mansion.

Here's the crazy part. In the preview, their lawyer explains that they can't qualify for bankruptcy...because they refuse to liquidate their properties!!!

We, the people, are buying these people's groceries because they don't want to lose their summer home, not to mention "downsize" their current one.

While this show is being pitched as an anti-celebrity show, a "real"-life story, it makes me even madder than one of the generic celebreality shows. At least I'm not subsidizing the Kardashians.

This ad wasn't a joke. Did you read the bullet points? One said "Treat citizens like customers." This TV ad was created by candidate Rick Synder, who ran and won the race to become Michigan's governor this past Tuesday.

This idea of "running a state like I ran my business" has become a more popular talking point in the last few years. Because in times of financial suffering, it sounds appealing. This was Meg Whitman's big push. She ran eBay. eBay did good. So let's give her the reins to California, and she'll turn it into a successful online auction and shopping Website...wait.

It's not the same thing. The government is not a business. A state's role is not to increase total ROI, get bigger and buy-out other states. A state's role is not to take your tax dollars and invest them in blue-chip index funds.

Like it or not, government is charity. It's justice. It tries to right civil wrongs. That's what it is. And even if you think that's not what it should be - even if you think the role of government is simply to protect the constitutional rights of the populace, a business doesn't do that either.

If you want a balanced budget, elect an accountant. If you want social "justice", elect a community organizer. If you want a good ROI, invest in the market yourself.