bureaucracy

Why is EPA “Faceless”?

People complain about faceless bureaucrats. At least in part, that could be fixed.

How many people can name the head of EPA or even know the title of that office?  About 5% of the population, would be my guess. Apart from Scott Pruitt, who became famous for his $20,000 phone booth, few people outside of the field could name any previous holder of the office. 

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The Libertarian Critique of Trump’s “Schedule F”

As it turns out, you can hate BOTH government regulation and Trump’s assault on the “deep state.”

Installing inexperienced ideologues in the executive branch won’t accomplish anything useful and would only make it harder to implement deregulatory policies. The main effect of Schedule F would be gridlock rather than policy change

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The Monument to the Unknown Bureaucrat

Yes, there actually is one. It’s in Reykjavík. And here’s why it’s worth pondering.

Working away in anonymity, a cadre of civil servants keeps the machinery of government working.  There’s actually a monument in Reykjavík, Iceland to these public servants. It shows someone in a business suit carrying a briefcase — or more specifically, the lower half of the person, with the upper half replaced by a block of …

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Environmental Cover-ups and the Bureaucracy

Ann wants to know, “why do governments engage in obfuscation in the case of a major environmental crisis?”  The assumption here is that the public is going to find out eventually, so why cover it up now and make it worse?  Well, here’s a theory. Note that “governments” don’t do anything — people do.  “Government” …

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The New Federal Climate Agency

The administration creates a new federal climate agency; let’s put it in the right place.

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