The Primary Purpose of a Bureaucracy

Recently, Jeffery Tucker wrote a wonderful article about competence (Epoch Times -- The Changed Meaning Of Competence). Being a retired civil servant, I recognized exactly what Tucker was talking about. However, most important is the fact that all bureaucracies are infected with the affliction of “questionable competence” due to the nature of a bureaucracy and human nature. In many respects, it is a form of corruption.

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.

However, in 2024, Congress is part of a criminal conspiracy with the White House to defraud the American taxpayers

 It is now a go-along-to-get-along structure to make sure people have jobs to support their families, and their oath of office is secondary—doing the taxpayers’ business, as little as necessary to keep a job. They focus on making their job easier by writing more regulations when the regulations that are in place are more than adequate. This has resulted in, literally, tons of federal regulations, many which conflict with each other. This is why the massive behemoth of a federal government is beyond the controls established in the United States Constitution.

But enough about the Executive Branch of the federal government; let’s discuss the Legislative Branch. The Constitution was designed so there were checks and balances to prevent the Executive Branch from getting out of control. However, in 2024, Congress is part of a criminal conspiracy with the White House to defraud the American taxpayers. It is now a uniparty criminal enterprise to control the population of the United States and enrichen the political ruling class, taxpayers be damned. And a massive number of corruptocrats are getting rich on the backs of the taxpayers. For the last three years government spending has had no limits because of this criminal enterprise, but many of the players are now multimillionaires. On the other hand, average Americans suffer daily while involuntarily paying for this corruption.

When mediocrity becomes an acceptable standard, then DEI and all the other woke variations replace competence, the result is a society and culture on a death spiral of decline

Then we have the non-profit bureaucracies all over America. Like the government, there is absolutely no incentive for competency. Perpetuating the organization so that the organizers are making a paycheck is primary goal of most of the non-profits. Most churches don’t fall into that category, but too many non-profits simply play on the emotions of people to donate. The Clinton Foundation was a perfect example of how little money actually went to the stated purpose and so much money went to “overhead.” This was criminal enterprise money laundering in the most spectacular way. Before donating people should check out, very closely, any non-profit to make sure how money is actually spent, you might be surprised and disappointed.

When mediocrity becomes an acceptable standard, then DEI and all the other woke variations replace competence, the result is a society and culture on a death spiral of decline. Life and death mediocrity was on full display on July 13, when we witnessed a near assassination.

A mediocre military is a losing proposition when push comes to shove

Life and death mediocrity also exists in the United States military since competency has been replaced by woke social experimentation in military leadership. A mediocre military is a losing proposition when push comes to shove. The political purge that took place after the Biden/Harris administration took office decimated competent military leadership at that time and put all competent junior military leaders on notice that excellence was no longer wanted or rewarded. Sexual proclivities became more important than competence in the military bureaucracy. The message is, buy into he woke mediocre military or hit the road. What is left of the military bureaucracy is undermanned, marginally qualified, and unable to recruit people to fill the void. Competent people are unwilling to simply strive for mediocrity.

This is my assessment of bureaucracies in general and the federal bureaucracy in particular. You will have to do your own assessment of your city, county, and state bureaucracies. In my view, there are locations with worse bureaucracies than Washington, DC, and many bureaucracies better than inside the beltway. One thing is for certain: bureaucracies are bureaucracies are bureaucracies and the government bureaucracies must be controlled by their voters or chaos will reign over the land.