A Proven Track Record.
Elon Musk is incredibly talented. His accomplishments require no rave review; they speak for themselves. He has overcome many obstacles, and it is highly probable that he will continue to excel. If I had bought Tesla stock when it first went public, I would be sitting on my private island rather than writing blogs.
The Impossible Dream.
Nevertheless, Mr. Musk's most recent endeavor may be beyond his skill set. He has taken on the task of overseeing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Suppose he had decided to negotiate world peace, eliminate global warming, ensure political campaigns are not hostile, or send his spaceships to discover another universe. In that case, I think he might have had a chance to be successful. However, making government efficient is beyond any human being's capabilities. Before you chastise me, let me make my case.
Government efficiency is, by definition, the ultimate oxymoron. To make government efficient, one would have to correct all of the errant inputs and operations of government. Governmental inefficiency is not just about the bureaucratic swamp, which I will discuss below. It also involves Congress, a body that passes laws, budgets, and plans that automatically make government inefficient and convoluted. Congress's actions are not done by accident. Many people benefit from the morass; after all, there is a reason that a wrench may cost hundreds of dollars. (It should be noted that legislators often do not read the bills upon which they vote. This failure to read makes it hard to ensure that a bill does not produce inefficiencies. Of course, legislators do have bureaucrats who tell them what is in a bill.) The courts and the executive branch compound the problem by adding layers of complexity that breed additional inefficiency.
History of Governmental Inefficiency.
To make the government efficient, one would have to start all over. After all, our government has been in place for hundreds of years. Correcting the ills of decade after decade of mismanagement, machinations, ineptness, groups pushing for their enlightened self-interest, and layer upon layer of regulations that never truly get vetted would take decades upon decades to unwind. Unless Mr. Musk figures out a way to have AI clone him and extend his life, he does not have enough time to both make the government efficient and, at the same time, develop a system to keep it that way. The latter is the real problem.
Of course, Elon Musk's greatest challenge is the bureaucratic swamp members. These individuals have a lot to lose if the government is run efficiently. In recent months, I have thought that AI is the greatest threat, not to lawyers, accountants, or assembly line workers but to governmental bureaucrats, because AI could replace many of them in one fell swoop.
Part of the Problem.
If you check my background, you will find that I once was a state bureaucrat; I have been part of the problem. I saw multiple inefficiencies. For example, I encountered totally ineffective people. The "bureaucratic swamp" protected them. I could not "replace" people who could not perform; instead, I "placed" them in another department or area. I call this "re-calibration."
A second bureaucratic inefficiency revolved around why we did things. I frequently was told we did something because it had always been done that way. This attitude is the last bastion of government inefficiency, worthless excuses, and weak-minded thinking. It is so much easier to use this excuse than to figure out how to improve things. It should be noted I gave in to this philosophy; I even used it at times.
Life After DOGE.
Comments have swirled around Elon Musk's new endeavor, DOGE. One rumor is that Mr. Musk may shrink or eliminate some areas of the bureaucracy. Eliminating governmental agencies can be very, very productive; maybe it could produce efficiencies. (I am compelled to point out that removing something does not necessarily deliver efficiency.) However, the improvements will be crucial if and only if future administrations work to keep the government efficient. It is the old cliché about doing versus maintaining.
Like the impressive octopus that can regrow an arm in just a few months, governmental bureaucrats can morph into their old ways in the blink of an eye. It would not take months. Maybe a future politician could run on the slogan, "Make America's Government Accountable." (Of course, MAGA is taken.)
In an effort to find ways to help Mr. Musk, I contacted Dr. Chan eil dòigh Ann, a leading governmental management scholar at the University of Gaelic in Pavo, Georgia. I asked him what he would suggest should be put in place to maintain the accomplishments that Elon Musk has opined he wants to make. Dr. Ann recommended that a new presidential cabinet-level position be established.
I inquired about the name and the goal of the cabinet-level Department. He suggested that it be called the Department of Non-perambulation About the Pole of Unnecessary Programs. (NAPUP, pronounced "Department of Nay-pup.”) The goal of the Department would be to make sure governmental agencies never even perambulate (walk close to) the pole (i.e., the concept) of unnecessary governmental expansion. The development of such a department seems reasonable. According to Dr. Ann, it would be essential, however, to give this Department unlimited power in order for it to be successful. That could be a serious problem.
Not Enough Time.
I realize I should volunteer to assist Mr. Musk in his endeavors. In fact, I hope he will contact me for my advice. After all, I have years of experience in everything from university administration to international finance, a stent on the Charlotte Federal Reserve, and a term as a research director who focused on actuarial research. There is one major problem; I checked the actuarial tables and noted that my life expectancy is approximately 11 years. This life expectancy is far too short a period to dent government inefficiency.
Mr. Musk Should Be Successful.
I genuinely applaud Mr. Musk's goal. Surely, he will increase efficiency since he has an outstanding track record for success. I hope he will succeed! However, keeping any accomplishments in place will be the real challenge. It will be difficult to keep future administrations from spiraling downward into a quagmire of inefficiency, spoiling Elon Musk's accomplishments.
I will post this blog on my Twitter account. Perhaps Mr. Musk will respond and explain how the country can retain the significant efficiencies he will produce. I will undoubtedly post his reply on Twitter.
Picture by Pixabay.com.
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2 Responses
9 November 2024 I read your blog about inefficiencies and have some thoughts because I too spent years “in the belly of the beast”. and after working there, I have several observation on the topic of inefficiencies. I noted that for people to be efficient they have to be motivated and working in a bureaucracy that usually doesn’t produce a profit the reasons to work hard and to show initiative are reduced. Several of my observations are:
1. People are motivated by several things related to work.
a. The worker believes in the mission, his/her boss, or the organization they work with/for. Their motivation comes from within, a sense of duty.
b. Pay. Increase in pay, as in promotions or bonuses.
i. In a bureaucracy the pay scale is set and there are little overtime opportunities.
ii. Promotions are hard to come by because the only way to move up is for the person occupying that position must retire, quit, or die. In my own case the salary I received on the first day was the salary I received on the last day, 17 years later. The only increase in pay I received were the cost-of-living wage increases that everyone received. Working hard garnered little except for personal satisfaction, with recognition from above coming infrequently. It is not uncommon for Florida state workers to jump from job to job within the system to advance in position and thus pay. This way a department constantly has people who are unaccustomed to the job and to complicate even that, they are in leadership positions.
c. Time. People work to have time off from work as part of their compensation. If a set of tasks are to be performed and once completed to a satisfactory degree the workers are free to go home In this system the workers will work fast and seek innovations to be more productive because the pay-off is time. A bureaucracy is absolutely not set up with and with a flexible schedule., so, no going home early. If there is no work to do, look busy. Since the work must be done, but with ill-defined deadlines, the motivation to complete the task is reduced. Tomorrow is another day the work will still be there.
d. Recognition. People will work incredibly hard if they receive compensation in the form of shown gratitude, a thank you, a job well done, atta boy, or even a pat on the back. If the workers feel appreciated, sometimes that is enough. Too few leaders understand this concept.
2. Reasons why workers show little initiative
a. Worker culture is to slow-walk the job. If a worker demonstrates hard work, it can make coworkers look bad and with that there is developing animosity amongst the workers. Peer pressure is to fit in.
b. There are few repercussions for mediocre work. Getting rid of a useless worker is harder than putting up with them.
c. How many times do innovative workers go to their bosses with a suggestion or an idea only to be shut down with the retort, “We’ve never done it that way.” Or to be shut down because it would cause the leaders to have to show initiative to get a new idea off the ground. The leadership shows themselves to be risk adverse and often just lazy.
d. Good is good enough. If demonstrating diligence has few recognitions from leadership, why bother.
3. Leaders set the example to the staff how to maintain the culture of inefficiency. a. The one I’m most familiar with is the spending money at the end of the quarter or year so the budgeted amount are spent thus almost guaranteeing the same amount of money the next fiscal period. My own observation was when I was in the military. As the quarter was coming to a close it was realized that all the money budgeted for aviation fuel was not spent, so the airplanes were filled to the brim with fuel, they then flew out over the ocean and dumped the fuel overboard thus using up all the fuel giving the unit the same fuel allotment for the coming quarter, even though it was not needed. In more recent times our director came to us at the end of the fiscal year telling us that we had to spend some thousands of dollars before the deadline. Dutifully we went to the supply catalogs and surprisingly found what we needed (and didn’t need) to end the year at Zero. Obviously, it is possible to fill volumes of how the government maintains its inefficiencies; but one way to improve is to give the worker some reason to work hard beyond, “I gotta buy groceries.” Somethings can’t be changed but innovative and imaginative leaders would go a long way to promote job satisfaction and further their specific mission.
John
The following comment was forwarded to me by email. I am posting it at the request of the writer, and the opinions do not reflect my opinions.
Elon Musk is not interested in efficiency. This is a scam to allow him and his fellow billionaires to continue to suck at the government teat. You can bet he won't cut any of the billons he gets from the federal government. They will seek "efficiency" by trying to cut money for school lunches, Medicaid, and other things that go to poor people. I dislike Musk and would never buy a Tesla. He spent untold millions to elect Trump including many "false flag" ads targeted to Jews, Muslims, and other groups, ads supposedly put on by the Harris campaign. X has become a propaganda outlet. He is a big reason why we could lose our democracy in the next four years.
Charles