Government bureaucracy is the molasses in the works. It slows things down and often makes it difficult to get things done. In the right amount, things run smoothly. Too much of it and nothing gets accomplished. Government bureaucracy is an administrative system of non-elected officials and agencies that implement laws, manage daily operations, and enforce public policies.
Within a properly functioning governmental bureaucracy there is a chain of command established on merit and not patronage. It is a place where individual workers have specialized training to accomplish specific tasks. These workers follow rules and procedures designed to guide the actions of all along a predictable path.
I spent almost 40 years working within the bureaucracies of federal, state, and local governments. While I often found the restraints of the rules and regulations confining, I was regularly reminded of their importance. It was always tempting to “cut the red tape” and look for shortcuts, and admittedly, I sometimes managed to maneuver the maze “more efficiently.”
With that said, I also saw the value in following procedure. The competitive bidding process, for instance, formalized the acquisition of materials and services and provided the structure to identify what was needed or how some service could be implemented. This avoided surprises and formed a mechanism for vendors and service providers to satisfy governmental needs efficiently and at a fair price.
Our hated bureaucracy provides stability, fairness, and predictability. Shortcuts to work around established laws, rules, and regulations result in systemic corruption with personal bias and bribery. Elite or wealthy individuals gain unfair advantage, and bypassing the rigors of proper assessments can bring critical safety, economic, or public health failures.
Granted, bureaucratic processes slow things down and cause some frustration, but most often they do what is intended. Shortcuts often end up costing taxpayers more money and can even result in delays. If you come from a non-governmental background and then find yourself having to operate within the confines of structured procedures, that frustration can be infuriating. The checks and balances of a working democracy were designed to provide some measure of caution.
Enter the likes of Donald Trump, with the temperament of a spoiled three-year-old, and the bureaucracy becomes an obstacle you will not endure. Everything will be declared an emergency so you can get your way and get it fast. No-bid contracts become the rule and not the emergency exception. In the case of a monument you want fixed, the failure to formally examine the task at hand, obtain expert opinions for possible solutions, and locate qualified businesses to complete the task, and you end up with an embarrassing failure.
The Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool has been a prime example.
In this instance, that failure involves only the loss of $50M, finger pointing, embarrassment, and a national monument covered in algae with a peeling liner. In the case of starting a war with a nation like Iran, and the consequences are a mind-boggling global catastrophe where human lives are lost and the financial and environmental losses will be felt for generations.
Back when our government worked within the normal restraints of laws, policies, and established procedures, and elected officials listened to experts and sound advice, we avoided many such debacles. Now, with a petulant child at the helm who has the empathy of some combination of Atilla the Hun and Vlad the Impaler, and you have self-inflicted global chaos.
During Trump 1.0, there were a few individuals with enough scruples and sense to keep the man within the bounds of human decency. Now, with Trump 2.0, we find that the people who were his guardrails are gone and he has surrounded himself with sycophants who do his bidding without question, fan his ego, and provide him just the information that will keep him happy.
The only questions that remain are, can our nation survive our Atilla/Vlad hybrid, and, if it does, can it recover our rightful role in the effort to make America and the world a better place? Can some future leader restore our position of leadership in the free world? Can the damage he has wrought and will inflict in the next two and a half years be repaired? The future holds the answers.
Your assignment: Instruct your favorite A.I. device to, “compare the ego of Donald Trump to Vlad the Impaler.” Then repeat the question substituting Atilla the Hun for Vlad. When I used Google I found the responses amusing.
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