Agree government is not a corporation - that was always a stupid metaphor. (I find government is a lot more like... government.) On the banks, I think they've hired a NY Bank to run the new business. But I think you're overstating their "innovations." Banking is not venture capital or that sexy & more constructive stuff we all like. 80%-90% of people don't directly own any stocks/bonds. They have some savings, are in pension plans, do withdrawals, deposits, savings. They use cash machines & avoid bank managers. Vanilla stuff.

Of what you listed, none of the dealing with regulation, marketing, cash machines & computers, networks & such stuff is that hard. Credit Unions & public auto insurance etc., do this all the time, and do it well. In terms of innovative financial products, well, you've got a hard row to hoe on that one. Many of these "innovative products" were created to avoid regulation, taxation, & to take advantage of small gaps in the system as money went global. You'd probably need to list a couple that you think are stellar, cause they're not springing to mind. (Admittedly, I'm decaffeinated, down 3 pints of blood as a result of head-banging to the Four Tops all night, and only on my first pack of Peter Jackson's, so I'm a bit sluggish....)

Most modern economics/business talk about this stuff is just nonsense though. EVERYONE'S learned to repeat the word "market." So I keep testing to see who knows what that is, and it's rare anyone even makes a useful start. Almost no one gets that "corporation" is to "market," what "island" is to "sea" - that is, they're are antithetical. (And MY, what a massive con that's been. Somehow convincing people that "business" equalled "market." Like a political party convincing people it's "democracy.") Property, money, economic growth, innovation & techno change - these terms are grasped only to use as sticks.

Most important to me, they don't get that human needs & wants & satisfaction are different from the adman's "choices." I think we need to strengthen the OTHER economic spheres, the other means we have to meet our needs/wants/dreams - beyond the "market." Markets are amazing when well-defined, and best at driving sectors through rapid change. In those areas, I'm happy to see high private returns, and high risks. Mostly in fields or segments where you'd see venture capital running wild today.

But the state has real capabilities as well, we're just less likely to see it these days. You need history books or lots of travel to see what's possible here. A small instance. We have public auto insurance here. Works great. Cheap, fast, simple, and yes, even innovative. Health care? Ditto. There's better & worse aspects, and innovation moving unevenly - but the private role, the areas roped off for "markets," is defined.

Beyond Market & State are the economic fields that were 20th Century killing fields. We don't even have useful words for them anymore - community, mutual, coop, self-sufficiency, neighborhood. Most important perhaps, our abilities to teach ourselves, and produce our own goods. People bought millions of videos on how to WALK, Des. Hundreds of millions of people lost the ability to SING. Now, a lot of those basic human functions are being re-stimulated - Guitar Hero & the Wii - but first we had to kill off the formerly existing, and staggeringly impressive, human ability to sing, play instruments, dance, play. Now we're recreating it, but in a different way. I'm hoping it springs loose from all those rec rooms, and infects the rest of life, but I donno how that'll turn out. But note - this ISN'T me arguing that the state should take over music, I'm just pointing at some casualties of our State vs Market battles.

I could go on, but ♥'ly for you.... won't. Smoke break.