Customer Reviews

The Next Government of the United States: Why Our Institutions Fail Us and How to Fix Them

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This is a book that is more description and analysis of the US government in dealing with several disasters than it is a prescription. Catastrophes like 9-11 and Katrina were immense problems that involved many layers of government and the private sector with no clear coordination or accountability. The old model whereby one government agency tried to handle a vast, complex situation is hardly sufficient for large disasters, though for highly contained tasks such as administering Social Security, it works. Unfortunately, many seem to think that the government can simply straightforwardly, if not easily and quickly, solve any problem. Notice the lack of public commitment.

The author touches on the fact that Americans are ambivalent about how much power they wish to cede to government in handling problems. And then there is the nonsensical view that government is itself the problem and that the private sector is more competent. The American public seems to not fully comprehend the nature of democracy. We are the government. We can elect public-spirited individuals or we can elect anti-government ideologues. Of course, government fails when incompetents are appointed to key positions. It's silly to expect anything else. The cursory regulation of the financial community in 2008 says it all in terms of ideologues putting our economy near collapse.

It's not particularly profound to point out that many government functions, including overall management, are outsourced to the private or non-profit sectors. That fact will not change. The author calls for "rocket scientists" to solve our large problems - meaning highly intelligent individuals who are results-oriented and capable of coordinating with others. That is not a structural change in governmental institutions, as suggested by the title. It goes without saying that solving problems requires highly capable people with sufficient authority to get the job done. Not too profound.

The book is pretty much a disappointment. A minimalist public philosophy is pervasive in the US. Things always have to get bad, even way out of control, before problem-solving action is taken. Look at the problems that we have let get out of hand. Slavery tops the list. And then it took one hundred years to establish civil rights after the Civil War. The cycle of depressions went on for one hundred years before FDR tried to get a handle on it. And now the current financial crisis is upon us. We don't commit adequate resources to fight wildfires. We are unwilling to face global warming. These are not management and coordination issues. For whatever reason(s), we don't commit to solving problems impacting large swaths of people. We could, but we don't. That's what the author needs to be talking about.

fast service great book and great price very happy with that purches and now i hope i pass the final

Anyone who has even a passing interest in politics or the news should read this book. It really describes how things are in reality. Few other books seem to capture this new trend. All to often people's perception of government, what it does and should do is based off of High School Civics. However things have changed quite a bit over the past 20 years. The demands on government have grown but politicians has put restrictions on who those demands are met. Those restrictions took the form of staffing limits or instructions to contract out services in order to create a new plumb for supporters.

This book tells that story in great detail. It is a very readable story. The book is a real page turner. It is very readable and almost fun to go through. It really grabs your attention all throughout the book. He mixes stories with some discussion of theory to present a great book.

To meet the restrictions government has contracted out services to a mix of private sector or nonprofits to deliver basic services. This trend has even touched the Defense Department. That is what KBR is; a DOD program to accomplish the mission and meet those restrictions. Anyone who has seen the news over the past eight years has seen what KBR has been doing. They are accomplishing the mission but at high cost using civilians like soldiers. That is just one example of the point. The book has other stores about this different relationship.

This book really captures this trend for the reader in great detail. This is a story that usually only insiders know of. The basic media has missed that point. This trend has created a unique way to accomplish the mission. Work has to be done through a weird mix of Federal workers, contractors, state/local government and an occasional nonprofit. Each of those entities have their own agenda. That makes quick efficient accomplishment of the mission very difficult. The response to the hurricane Katrina shows how this network can be pushed beyond it's limits in dire circumstances.

The author does offer some great ideas on how to make this set up work. However he forgets how politics can mess things up. It was politics that created this weird monster. It will take politics to fix it. The scores of special interest groups makes his efficiency suggestion very difficult to implement.

If you have an interest in government you will love this book.

Here he is again. The author of Team Bush--the celebration of that great manager, George W. Read that book if you want to know how shallow Kettl is.