The public servants are interested in doing what they must to keep their jobs and if there is a possibility their positions will be classified as non-essential, they will organize and fight for bigger budgets. They will say almost anything to convince the taxpaying public and the legislators that children will die and nations will fall if their agency is phased out. Terrorists will take over if their budget is not increased. Organized crime will take control of everything if more police officers are not hired. All useful services such as trash collection and schools will cease to exist if there is a tax cut. Sound familiar?
You can make your own list, but before you criticize these people, remember: They are not much different than you and your family. What would you do if there was a chance your job would be phased out and you could do something to save it? It really does not make a bit of difference to most individuals who signs the payroll checks. They put in the hours, do what they are told and cash a check. The color of the currency is the same for government employees, politicians, bureaucrats and the private sector.
The real problem bureaucrats are the ambitious individuals who go to work for the government and are anxious to climb the stairway to power and stature. They intend to advance and improve their position, even if the nation suffers as a result. They do not care about such vague things as freedom or heritage, unless professing such beliefs will help them better their bureaucratic position of power.When you hear government employees complaining about being overworked, don't laugh. It is often very true. They are over-worked trying to comply with all of the nonsensical, multi-copy, bureaucratic requirements of their jobs. Congress knows how foolishly government can spend money (they spend more than anyone). They create buffer bureaus to write rules the government employees must follow, so they do not waste money.
Did you ever wonder why the Pentagon gets a bill for $350 for a simple ball-peen hammer? It is the system the bureaucratic rule writers have imposed on such purchasing to make sure the taxpayers do not pay too much! The rule writers received their authority from your Congressman and in the case of the famous $12 hammer which costs $350, it is the rules which drive the price up.
When the General says he wants a hammer so the mechanic can fix the jeep -- someone better find that hammer.
There are about 20 pages of typed information which outlines the standards such a hammer must meet. A clerk must now find the correct sheet and type up the purchase order, make several copies of bid sheets and publish the information (About three hours).
Contractors' employees must now read all this information to decide if they have hammers which qualify. Since they will miss out on more bids than they will win, they have to add all the time they spend making bids and reading bid sheets, and then amortize their time to recoup the costs on the bids they do win. Cost of $20 per hour for the agent to read, times 15 agents equals $300. Cost of the hammer is $12, plus $300 administrative costs, plus a 10% mark-up (cost plus 10% contractor). Bill to Pentagon $343.20 plus freight. Since the General was in a hurry it had to be shipped and handled separately --- another $6.80 and you have a $350 ball-peen hammer!
What happens when you complain to your Congressman about these ridiculous rules? He says there is nothing he can do about it. Bull! He and his colleagues wrote the laws and regulations which created the rule-writing bureaucracy and they can change it. Of course, Congressmen will have to fight with the bureaucrats for the changes. Civil clerks who push such legislation seldom leave Washington when a Congressman retires or loses the election. They merely get assigned to another legislator and continue to slant things the way their friends in the bureaucracy would prefer.Most bureaucrats and government employees are of the opinion that in order to do their jobs effectively, and provide their service to the public, "the people must surrender certain of their rights" (at least a little bit of surrender). What they are actually saying is that they are not competent to do the job they are being paid to do.
Government's purpose for existence is to provide those services and protection to the people which they could not reasonably be expected to provide individually (streets, courts, police, prisons, etc.). When government bureaucrats say we must give up our rights in order to have the service, then they are incompetent or are building a power base. Either way they should be removed from their posts immediately. They, like the politicians and judges, have taken an oath and swore to UPHOLD the Constitution. If they attempt to circumvent it, then they are in violation of that oath and should be treated accordingly.
What many government people seem to forget is that history is filled with stories about governments which have run amuck and attempted to take advantage of the people they were created to serve. Even today there are activist organizations preparing for the downfall of the American bureaucracy. They are making lists of civil servants, officials, judges and politicians who have run roughshod over the rights of the people. Eventually, they will follow in the course of history and be hung from the lamp posts or strung up from the nearest tree.
To better understand the extremes some government employees will go to in order to make their jobs easier, take a look at our prison and parole system. Did you ever wonder why so many people who are released from prison are back in jail within just months? The answer can be found in the reports made by Prison guards and corrections officers.
Parole Boards, in most states, consist of citizens appointed by the governor. They visit the prisons and have regularly scheduled meetings to consider the parole release of those prisoners who have displayed an ability to "get along" in society. To make this determination these men and women interview the prisoners at parole board hearings after reading their individual files and records.
The record includes reports filed by the prison guards, warden, various prison officials and employees. When the prison has to put up with a real trouble-maker, a guard's job is made tougher. He would like to have everyone behave themselves so he can get his paycheck and go home without a lot of headaches. The guards are going to keep reasonable peace, but they are not going to do anything to make their jobs tougher. Some of those prisoners are borderline psychotics who would just as soon stick a knife in someone's ribs as to cut into a T-Bone steak.
As a result, some "bad ass" prisoners are given plenty of room by most prison officials. If they want to shake-down the other prisoners or push dope, the guards will look the other way as long as it does not get totally out of hand and someone is killed. When it comes time to make out reports for the parole board, the guards are not going to give the trouble-maker con a negative write-up. That would keep him behind bars and a problem for the guard. It is to the prison guard's advantage to give bad marks to the easy going prisoners who should be released -- they are easy to keep in line and the job is easier. Give good marks to the trouble maker and get them an early release -- out of the guard's hair and back on the streets to harass society!
This is how the systems work. It is doubtful that you could find a prison guard in the entire United States who considers himself to be a bureaucrat, but that is how he functions. Until such a problem is recognized, solutions for it cannot be found.