How Bureaucracy Is Breaking Government
"We have lost track of ensuring government agencies can operate effectively."
What It’s About
In a conversation with Nicholas Bagley, Kathy Stack, and Jenny Mattingley inspired by their conversation at Abundance 2024, host Santi Ruiz interrogates how bureaucratic complexity and outdated procedural laws hinder government effectiveness. The discussion highlights the unintended consequences of rules like the Paperwork Reduction Act, revealing how layers of procedural rigidity not only paralyze agencies but also make meaningful reform exceptionally challenging.
Key Themes
The discussion covers:
- Procedural Overload: Excessive and outdated procedures severely restrict agencies, like the Paperwork Reduction Act, which has forced agencies to wait months or even years to do something as simple as user-testing of forms
- Institutional Risk-Aversion: Agencies self-impose additional internal constraints out of fear of violating vague or misunderstood policies, compounding inefficiency and reducing responsiveness
- Lack of Salience: Presidents are rarely attuned to or interested in making government as a whole more effective, so the issue of proceduralism does not receive attention
Why It Matters
Agencies are held back from their full effectiveness by some statutes, but the culture of proceduralism goes deeper and has led to agencies holding themselves back. Only dedicated attention from executive branch leadership and cultural change can interrupt these bad habits.
Who Participated
Jenny Mattingley is Vice President for Government Affairs at the Partnership for Public Service.
Nicholas Bagley is a law professor at the University of Michigan, where he specializes in administrative and health law.
Kathy Stack is a policy expert who served nearly 30 years at the Office of Management and Budget.