What qualities do modern presidents need to fulfill their many roles?
Government at every level depends on a bureaucracy to carry out public policies. Yet bureaucracy is one aspect of government that Americans love to hate. According to critics, government bureaucracies are too large, too impersonal, and too self-serving to accomplish much. As Senator Eugene McCarthy once quipped, “The only thing that saves us from the bureaucracy is its inefficiency.” But is this a fair assessment ofl ocal, state, and federal bureaucracies?
Bureaucracies are run by civil servants, or civilian employees working in government agencies. In popular culture, civil servants are often portrayed as mindless paper pushers who insist on following petty rules and creating mounds of paperwork, all while ignoring human needs. In reality, most government employees are hardworking, highly skilled individuals who are dedicated to their jobs.
The work done by civil servants ranges from nursing and photography to engineering and economic analysis. Civil servants are responsible for providing many of the government services that Americans need and want. For example, public school teachers, park rangers, firefighters, and health inspectors are all government employees.
For a bureaucracy to be effective, it must have the power it needs to do its job. This power stems from various sources, including those described here.
Legislative and budgetary support. A bureaucracy relies on laws and adequate funding to support its work. Without adequate funds, for example, a public school district may not be able to hire enough teachers for its students.
Interest group support. Government agencies can gain or lose power depending on the response of interest groups to their work. For example, the power of the Environmental Protection Agency may be enhanced by support from environmental groups. Or opposition from interest groups that favor fewer environmental controls may weaken it.
Expertise of bureaucrats. The ideal bureaucracy is staffed by workers who are expert at their jobs. For a bureaucracy to work well, employees must know what they are doing. For that reason, many government jobs require applicants to pass competitive exams.
Longevity or permanence. The longer a government agency exists, the more likely it is to enjoy substantial power. In the same way, seniority strengthens the hand of government workers, who tend to stay in their jobs for many years. The average federal employee has been at his or her job for around 17 years.
Effective leadership. Federal agencies typically thrive under effective leaders. Conversely, they flounder when their leadership is poor. Without effective leadership, NASA would not have been able to land a man on the moon in 1969, just eight years after President Kennedy made that achievement a Citizen demand. Concerned citizens can help expand and strengthen bureaucracy by demanding government action to solve a problem. For example, public concerns about the safety of workers led Congress to form the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in the early 1970s. This federal agency enforces health and safety regulations in the workplace.
The power of bureaucracies is not unlimited, however. Ultimately, bureaucracies work under the direction of an elected or appointed chief executive, whether a mayor, a city manager, a governor, or the president. Legislative bodies also monitor their operations. On several occasions, Congress has held hearings to investigate the work of federal agencies. To help weed out corruption, Congress has also passed laws to protect whistle-blowers, or employees who expose wrongdoing.
Bureaucracy has grown at all levels of government since this country was founded. Much of this growth has occurred since World War II, particularly since the 1960s, as government has provided more services to the American people. Although many people complain about the growth of bureaucracy, they still want the services that civil servants provide.
In recent years, the number of federal civilian government employees has leveled off. The size of the federal workforce today is about the same as it was in 1960. This shrinking of the federal bureaucracy has been made possible by privatization, or the practice of contracting private companies to do jobs once done by civil servants. Some 13 million people now work indirectly for the federal bureaucracy, either on contract with private companies or as state and local employees working under federal funding.
Many Americans have a story to tell about a negative experience with a public agency. At the same time, most can also recall a time when they desperately needed the services that civil servants provide. New Yorkers felt this way in 2005, when public transit workers went on strike. Some 7 million commuters suddenly lacked public transport. Many had to walk miles to get to work. When the strike ended two days later, commuters had a new appreciation for the value of public services.
On the other hand, government bureaucracy has improved the lives of many Americans. In the past few decades, it has helped achieve the following:
A century ago, many Americans lived in filthy slums that bred disease and worked in dangerous factories with few safety provisions. That has all changed for the better through the efforts of government agencies. Despite frequent complaints about bureaucratic waste and mismanagement, most Americans would be reluctant to give up the benefits that bureaucracy provides.