Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

Want more efficient and more productive government? The solution is simple, but probably won’t be used.

Once every now and then, someone comes along and tries to make government more efficient and more productive. Note: this means more efficient and more productive than it is now. This does not mean truly efficient and truly productive, just better.

We see this now in the news as a new President with new advisors attempts new methods in search of efficiency and productivity. We also see that there are policies in place that create inefficiency and unproductive behavior.

I was an employee of our Federal government for 28 years. I have spent the following 17 years still working around our Federal government. I have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly.

We have rules and rules upon rules inside government to cause behaviors. As a wise person once told me many years ago, “Whenever you find a rule, you can find that it is in place because some persons were trying to cheat.” The rule attempts to stop the cheating by a few persons. The rule also cuts efficiency and productivity by the great majority of persons. The rule brings waste.

So, here is a solution: remove those rules and hire good, smart people.

Good people are ethical. They don’t lie, cheat, or steal. They behave well.

Smart people are smart. They see what needs to be done and they do it quickly and well.

Simple solution that removes all the rules that bring waste.

We won’t use this simple solution. We no longer seem to have a common definition or right and wrong (ethics). We don’t like seem to people who see what needs to be done and do it quickly and well.

Back to the drawing board or something. We can do better.