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During the semester, I shall post course material and students will comment on it. Students are also free to comment on any aspect of American politics, either current or historical. There are only two major limitations: no coarse language, and no derogatory comments about people at the Claremont Colleges. This blog is on the open Internet, so post nothing that you would not want a potential employer to see. Syllabus: http://gov20h.blogspot.com/2023/08/draft-introduction-to-american-politics.html

Sunday, November 25, 2007

Bureaucracy

The motion picture "United 93" recreates the events of 9/11 with many of the actual people who responded, including Ben Sliney, FAA Director of Operations. If you had been in Sliney's shoes -- not knowing what you know now -- could you have done anything differently?

After 9/11, Congress and the president tried to "streamline" the bureaucracy by creating the Department of Homeland Security. Here is the organization chart. What do you think of their handiwork?

Bureaucratic complexity is not just an abstract concept that interests policy wonks. It affects real people. Consider the "spaghetti chart" confronting Californians who seek social services. Also consider the case of special education services. How do you think an average parent reacts to this complexity?
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