Med school bureaucracy

Recently, two giant U.S. companies announced they would become one. H.J. Heinz revealed it would be buying Kraft, and become even bigger. Why would they do this? Why wouldn’t they just start from scratch and create products to compete with Kraft?

It’s called economy of scale, and it works in the private sector because there are not unlimited funds available. After these companies combine headquarters, boards of directors and corporate offices, they will be able to run two giant companies for the price of one. This will increase profits and, hopefully, reduce prices for consumers.

Now, let’s look at the debate between a University of Washington and a Washington State University medical school. Would it be easier and less expensive for UW to expand its medical program to Spokane, or should WSU start a new medical school from scratch? I guess it depends on who pays.

Certainly, it would be less expensive and more efficient to have UW run the whole operation. It is recognized for running one of the best medical schools in the country. Unfortunately, bureaucrats always want to make a name for themselves and put their name in the limelight by creating a new medical program.

Rich Zywiak

Spokane