Quasi-Public Corporation

Just as centaurs are part man and part horse, quasi-public corporations are part public and part private. What this means is that the company itself is private, but it’s either backed by the government or performs some sort of government-related function.

There are approximately eighty-four bajillion examples of quasi-public corporations out there, but here are just a few:

- The airplane manufacturer that builds military aircraft
- The government-backed corporation that offers mortgage financing (think: Fannie Mae)
- The local U.S. Post Office branch that delivers our mail
- The utility company that brings irrigation water to nearby farms
- The tax-funded clinic that offers addiction treatment and recovery

Despite all the various forms a quasi-public corporation can take, they all have a few things in common. First of all, their employees are their employees, not the government’s. Second, they are almost always publicly traded. Third, even though they’re publicly traded and therefore have shareholders who want them to make as much money as they can, their primary purpose is always to make sure they’re adequately providing whatever good or service they provide to the public. And fourth (and this is so important that we’ve already mentioned it but we’re mentioning it again), they always have some sort of formal affiliation with the government or a government entity, either through their financing or their charter.