But not a for profit company, Ike was never, ever asked to turn a profit. Meeting payroll was pretty easy.
Think of someone like Mayor Pete, he is running a major federal bureaucracy. There is something to that, but if he ran against Joe Pillowman, people would point out that Joe Pillowman had to make a profit and worry about payroll. The running of a major bureaucracy wouldn't be considered of value. Ike ran one of the largest bureaucracies ever created, but someone else dealt with payroll and someone else worried about income. He did have to deal with expenses, but then so does Pete.