Replies

When I finished my grad studies in the early 1970's, we all scrambled for jobs. A good friend when to work for a small new agency in DC. He wrote me a few months later, telling me about his job. He said his director came in one morning and told all of them to slow down on processing the paper work..."let the In Box pile up" were his words. A little over a week later, the GAO came in on a "surprise inspection" to see if it was true that we were "buried in paper work". Because of the visit, his agency's budget was increased and more workers hired.

This confirmed two theories I have. 1) there is no incentive to be productive or efficient when there is no reward to doing so and it's not your money, and 2) controlling more workers and growing your staff in DC means getting noticed and climbing the social ladder. I firmly believe both are true.

The agency was the EPA.

On a related note, gov't agencies are not suppose to pass laws. The are to advise law makers on policy, not make it. However, Congress has abdicated its responsibility of oversight and simply rubber-stamps whatever the agencies want. This crap has to stop.