[throwaway0237]

> Both Android and Chrome need to be spun out--at this point they are basically public utilities.

And then what: future development paid for by taxes, done by public servants who can't be fired? A House Committee on Chrome's WhatWG standards compliance?

[rjmunro]

Public servants normally can be fired by elected officials. Elected officials can be "fired" by the people, albeit only once every 4 years.

Perhaps spun into some sort of not-for-profit, like Firefox. It's a difficult problem. Most options seem bad, but the current situation is bad too.

[pdonis]

> Public servants normally can be fired by elected officials.

No, they can't. There are extensive laws, rules, and regulations that prevent elected officials from firing government employees arbitrarily.

> Elected officials can be "fired" by the people, albeit only once every 4 years.

Every 2 years for the House of Representatives, every 6 years for Senators. But that almost never happens; the US Congress has incumbent re-election rates well above 90 percent. US Presidents are limited to two terms, so every so often we are forced to choose a new one.