The thing about owning is that it messes up the incentives. If the government owns something, it will be tempting to intervene if it loses value. And when he government needs money, they often sell at stupid prices. I think taxing makes more sense.
Valid point. I'd propose that if the government owns anything it only gets non-voting shares. And it should never own a controlling share of anything.
> And when he government needs money, they often sell at stupid prices.
I'd apply some kind of indexing algorithm. Leaving it to individual managers is bound to lead to corruption.