Suppose Indiana government convened a commission on improving the state's economic competitiveness. And suppose one of their recommendations was to consolidate all of the states 659 machine shops into one big company, let's call it Indiana General Tool. The Indiana Chamber of Commerce, the Indiana Manufacturers Association and each of the 659 company owners would rightly protest, perhaps toppling the current administration and upending the General Assembly.

Why maintain two police departments when you can consolidate into one? Why have two school districts, etc.? On the surface, the advantages of consolidation are obvious. Suppose you have two factories, each with a boss, an accountant, a lawyer, and 100 workers. If you merge the two factories, you don’t need two bosses or two accountants, or two lawyers, and you may not even need all 200 workers. You can cut out the unneeded overhead and save money easily. In organizational theory, the concept is known as economies of scale. Why not apply that to government? The answer is, it won’t always work in government.