Bureaucrats Control the Show

American Thinker ^ | 30 Mar, 2023 | Ben Madison

[MtnClimber]

Elected officials such as congressmen, governors, mayors, and even presidents are at the mercy of those who run and control these bureaus and agencies.

Bureaus and agencies administer the laws and regulations passed by Congress. They also administer executive orders issued by the President. They were created out of necessity. No one man or woman can effectively oversee the daily control necessary to ensure the laws and rules are carried out. The people that manage these departments are not elected. They have been hired based on experience or favoritism. They have been appointed based on nepotism or party affiliation. In most cases the actual controlling management have been on the job for a long period of time. They are skilled at managing and manipulating the established system as well as maintaining a protective shield against political climate change. They know which way the wind blows.

As a result of the embedded bureaucratic structure, elected officials such as congressmen, governors, mayors, and even presidents are at the mercy of those who run and control these bureaus and agencies. Presidential appointments, especially at the cabinet and department head levels are merely figureheads. They generally have no understanding of system processes or managerial requirements in the department they are appointed to. The departments are so large even someone with strong administrative skills will flounder in their attempt to control. They need to rely on those bureaucrats with well-established experience on the job, to tell them the truth and to push through the decisions made by the President. Congressmen pass laws, but few if any are involved in the administration of the laws and are generally oblivious to many bureaucratic regulations that are enacted to support a law. Good intentions of a law that is passed are many times thwarted by unforeseen regulations

[mewzilla]

“A lady asked Dr. Franklin Well Doctor what have we got a republic or a monarchy. A republic replied the Doctor if you can keep it. [Footnote:] The lady here aluded to was Mrs. Powel of Philada.”

James McHenry’s diary

[SMARTY]

Agencies are a wonderful thing for groups to get their agendas over. So many individuals and layers ‘administrative’ BS stand between the people initiating the crap policies and the people who actually sign off and implement them.

That way, no one is held to account or has to take responsibility.

[marktwain]

The "administrative state" was sold with the notion "experts" could decide how to regulate complex issues best. The idea was advanced by Progressives. The progressives made clear only Progressive experts would be suitable.

What they neglected to say was you can always find "experts" on all sides of an issue. Politicians only need to pick the "experts" who give them the policies they want.

Of course, Progressive "experts" always give policies which grow and enhance the power of the bureaucracies.

[hal ogen]

ALL bureaucrats should be limited to 5 years “working” for the government with no pension following them. They are an arrogant cancer upon this Republic.

[MtnClimber]

In my career I had to deal with plenty of bureaucrats. I had a coworker who referred to many of them as “investment grade”. What he meant was that if you could buy them for what they were worth and then sell them for what they think they were worth, you could make a fortune.