We must never forget that the primary purpose of each and every bureaucracy is to perpetuate itself
We must never forget that the primary purpose of each and every bureaucracy is to perpetuate itself. Now, if the bureaucracy is a for profit entity, the bottom line of a financial statement drives the direction of that bureaucracy. If there are no profits, sooner or later that bureaucracy will fail. Therefore, a for profit bureaucracy demands a certain level of competence as described by Mr. Tucker. Having said that, the bigger the for profit bureaucracy gets, the less incentive there is for competency, and performance suffers. That is how Boeing, once the best aircraft manufacturer in the world, has degenerated into a run-of-the-mill company with questionable ethical standards.
In all other bureaucracies, the only incentive for competence is an individual’s willingness to demonstrate competence to acquire a bigger pay check. Even at that, when a person achieves a level of comfort with his/her paycheck, competence will gradually slip away. That is when “the corruption” of protecting a paycheck and protecting the bureaucracy above all else, comes into play.
These proclivities are exactly how the Deep State was hatched in the federal government. There was no great plan to create the Deep State. It is simply the byproduct of human nature and bureaucracies that grew too big with too many employees with not enough to do.