The problem with Bureaucracy

There are benefits to consolidation – at least for the Democrat Majority. It ensures that a majority will be with them creating more areas of people living on the public dole and more people approving of the Nanny State. We here in Sussex County are only a few decades away from becoming a Bergen County or Essex County, either a county beholding to special interests, or a county beholding to a major town(s) to dictate the future.
The bottom line for all of this is that the fix for the woes of NJ are not in one magic elixier – as I have said. The fix is in several areas, but these areas revolve around a common theme – Less Government control means more innovation and independence based on the consumer and the businessman. Ultimately, the goal here is to get government back on it’s feet, with government back on it’s feet, we have a greater chance of a resurgent economy – but we can’t get business back on it’s feet if people do not want to be here and the state is a hostile zone towards business.
It is not just de-regulation (to coin a Reagan phrase) that is needed – it is de-bureaucracatizing that is needed. One of the only things that I can agree with Jimmy ‘The Peanut’ Carter is that a zero based budget needs to be adopted. The Peanut’s plan of building a budget works in public industry such as schools and government. Start with nothing and justify why you need something. Some of these are obvious – police need cars designed a certain way – a no brainer. But there are other areas when a group would need to justify it’s needs by identifying it’s impact on the community. Spending millions of dollars to service a dozen people is not acceptable. I know these aren’t the numbers – so relax. I think that the disconnect here is the view of those who have and those who have not. It all comes down to one question – IS IT THE JOB OF THE GOVERNMENT TO PROVIDE FOR PEOPLE?
This question strikes at the heart of government. Government that provides for people – controls the people – but to what extent. It is the duty of government to protect the people from harm – according to social contract theory (which is the theory that we give up a certain amount of our rights given by God in order to gain a certain amount of freedom.). According to the model then – is it a pendulum of Freedom. In other words – when the pendulum is set so that we have more freedom – but depend on the government less, isn’t it true then that if we have less freedom we depend on the government more. The second one is the version that we currently face in this state and are moving towards nationwide – a ‘nanny state’.
Getting back the bureaucracy, I heard the definition of a bureaucrat today that I completely agree with – if a bureaucrat fell out of an office window it would take a week for them to hit bottom. Bureaucracy is the great strangler of our democracy and our society – because they are based on people who want to keep their job. If a bureaucrat fixes the problem that the group or individuals were put together to fix – then there is no longer a need for that part of the bureaucracy. So for that group of individuals to keep their job they have to ‘evolve’ their position or portion of the bureaucracy that they maintain to achieve ‘greater’ goals.
And so the bureaucrats build their empires because they are now providing more for the individuals who are no longer individuals but lemmings following the lead of the public dole. So what do we do about all these social programs and social engineering that the government has inflicted on these lemmings? If we cut them off cold turkey, do we face a situation in which they will be forced to improvise, overcome or adapt. Or is this going to be a case in which we struggle along for another election cycle hoping to pay the debt off sometime in the future.
Well, the future is now, and the time is right. If we do not change the system which is raping the individualistic spirit from it’s people and destroying the economic growth ability of our people we will soon slide down into the oblivion of revolving debt, and eventual societal collapse. If you cannot pay your debts you loose your house and all your property – forced to live out on the street. If the government doesn’t pay it’s bills (which it cannot) it will cease to exist as we know it – and then the collapse will be catastrophic – because at that point the government will NOT be able to maintain order – it cannot pay the police forces to maintain order because it has no money, in which case mob rule may come to pass.
I know – pessimistic and crazy talk. However, do not think that just because we live in a world in which we have a fancy way of life and are considered part of the ‘1st world’ that we cannot be brought to our knees if we are not vigilant. It has happened before in history – Greece, Rome, France, England – all of these are just a small selection of those who thought that they could not fall from power – and in many of these the societal collapse came about at the same time as other disasters and problems.

The answer in the next column – but if you are astute you have already figured out the answer.