The Free View-- weblog of a presidential candidate

Bureaucraziness

Our government is being run by 22 year-olds taking 2 hour lunches.

I'm sure most of you are aware that our elected leaders are only peripherally involved in the actual writing of legislation, rules, and regulations. Aides, staffers, and now lobbyists and activists are regularly employed in the writing of parts or all of the text of the legislation that becomes law. 

A woman I know works at a California state agency which will remain nameless. In this agency, there is a team of young college people like this woman- and they are making laws. Well, not exactly- they are simply revising, fine-tuning, and editing laws. They basically are one half of a back-and-forth between the Governor and this agency. The contents of this back-and-forth are the specifics of new regulations and laws- the little wording and details of the rules which we will all have to live by.

My friend had basically two main things to say about her job. One was that it let her see how messed up our system is. She mentioned in particular how, when new programs or rules are implemented, part of that implementation includes a promotional campaign, usually with a giveaway or some sort of flashy hype-filled announcements. She also mentioned how lawmakers would often ask them to put together laws that conflicted with laws they had already pushed and passed earlier— and these students would have to let the lawmaker know that their new law would conflict with their previous law. "They don't even know what they have done, or what the laws they end up putting on the books actually say," is a rough but accurate paraphrase of her appraisal.

The other thing she had to say about her job was that it was fun working with a bunch of people her age, and they had a lot of fun, and took 2 and 1/2 hour lunch breaks, and didn't have to work hard.

A friend of ours then commented, "Oh, so you are wasting our tax money well, then." Indeed.

These days, disenchantment makes the world go 'round. Makes me wonder when the next time I'll be proud of my government will be.