So, You Want A Bureaucracy To Manage Your Healthcare

Why don't bureaucracies produce the expected results?  We've all heard of and experienced the gross incompetence of public and private sector bureaucracies.  Who hasn't been insulted and outraged by the bureaucracy you were required to deal with by some enterprise or government entity?  And when you add organized labor into the mix, it becomes even more frustrating, annoying and aggravating.  What is it about a bureaucracy that allows well-intentioned collaboration to become an unmanageable behemoth, consistently failing to deliver the expected results?

Let's begin with the individual.  Most of us, if not all of us, begin our journeys with hopes, dreams and aspirations.  However, it is truly the rare individual who converts those visions into a lifelong pursuit.  (In some cases, these rare persons unwittingly trap themselves in a bureaucracy, e.g., civilian and military pilots.)  The rest of us continue to fantasize while either conforming to societal expectations or simply allowing events and circumstances to determine our fate.  The difference between those that pursue and those that don't is the extent to which passion and determination fuels their energy and ambition, and keeps their focus on their pursuit.

Generally speaking, bureaucracies don't attract those with passion.  Bureaucracies attract those who seek safety, security, acceptance and approval, and who make career decisions based on immediate opportunities, personal needs, issues and desires; which pretty much describes the rest of us.  Consequently, the workforce of a bureaucracy is comprised of individuals who chose the default selection for a career.  It's not what they would do if they believed they had the power of self-determination.  Not exactly the kind of person essential to a culture of excellence.

Then, we put this person in a job that is routine, repetitive, and/or tedious.  The job offers little challenge after you’ve learned it, almost no fulfillment or satisfaction and does not encourage creativity or imagination.  This promotes increasing focus and attention on things unrelated to the task at hand but which provides a diversion from the daily drudgery .  Eventually, the thrill and anticipation of a new career are replaced by resignation, frustration, dissatisfaction and envy.  And for those grappling with serious personal issues, they become disgruntled and uncooperative employees putting increasing distance between themselves and those whom they serve.

For those with some semblance of ambition, and desire for recognition, achievement and advancement, a bureaucracy can be a pretty good place to fulfill those desires.  Bureaucracies need managers and administrators just like any other enterprise.  The question becomes, how to manage an ascending career without jeopordizing the benefits that brought them here in the first place.  The unintended consequence is management spends more time looking up the organization than looking down.  The rank and file soon realize management isn’t working for them and that they are being ignored.  Collective-bargaining is unintentionally invited into the organization and universally embraced even by those who never thought they would wear a “union” label.

All of this combines to create the ideal environment for a rigid and unchangeable structure.  Since creativity and imagination are not encouraged, and because job security is paramount, decision making introduces risk and invites complications.  Consequently, policies, procedures, standardization, rules and regulations become the order of the day, all in the name of efficiency.  Employees soon learn to serve the organization, and that serving the “greater good” affords much more safety and security than serving the individual.

The real issue lies in the expectations of those for whom the bureaucracy was intended to serve.  Simply put, the customer expects excellence without fault which, almost by definition, is impossible for the bureaucracy to deliver.  And while many private sector bureaucracies manage to overcome their inherent tendencies, there is not one example of a federal bureaucracy which has ever exceeded the taxpayers expectations in terms of efficiency, responsiveness and sincerety.

Three Issues with President George W. Bush

May 15, 2013

The Honorable George W. Bush

Office of George W. Bush

P. O. Box 259000

Dallas, TX  75225-9000

Dear Mr. President:

Thank you for your service to our nation and congratulations on the completion and dedication of your presidential library.  I look forward to my first opportunity to visit and tour this impressive historical facility.

Generally speaking, I believe your two-term administration was effective and the nation benefitted from your leadership, especially following the 911 terrorist attacks.  However, there were moments where I questioned your actions and decisions -- there are three specific occasions I wish to address.  I am hoping you will take the time to provide me with a more comprehensive rationalization for the courses you chose.  I have no right to ask for this nor do I believe you have to justify anything to me -- I chose to sit on the sidelines while you chose to get in the game -- I'm simply curious.

The war in Iraq went on far too long.  The "surge", in my mind, was more of an indictment on how the war had been prosecuted to that point.  I never got the sense from you or the Secretary of Defense that urgency was an essential element of your strategy.  (Urgency being the recognition that as long as you are fully-engaged in a major initiative, you cannot address other initiatives in a comprehensive fashion.)  I understand that nation-building is a slow, deliberate and arduous process; however, it just seemed that as long as there wasn't any real pressure to bring our troops home, other than Cindy Sheehan, you appeared content to sustain our prolonged involvement.  I'm not convinced it was ever about Iraqi freedom.  It was, more likely, another means of financially doping our national economy.  I believe the opportunity costs of this war will have as much influence on your legacy as any of your pro-active policies.

Illegal immigration is more than a human tragedy.  In my mind, it has the potential to destroy our nation as we know it.  Not because we don't have the ability or the desire to absorb another twelve million residents, but because it is now acceptable to disregard those laws which offend our

sensibilities, and it is acceptable for our elected officials to disregard their oaths of office.  The rule of law is the only thing that sets apart civilized societies from others.  I never believed you did your utmost to uphold the law of the land when it came to protecting our borders, or that you trusted the ingenuity, imagination, and creativity of the American spirit to solve the labor availability crisis.  I will never stop believing we could have found a way to satisfy our labor requirements without compromising the security and future of our nation.

I watched your library dedication television interview on Fox News.  Toward the end, you were asked about America's future role in foreign affairs.  I don't disagree with your position that we must not retreat from our historical prominence.  However, the success of nearly every human endeavor is a function of financial investment whether in the private, public, or non-profit sectors.  The prosperity of this nation once allowed us to heavily invest in those initiatives intended to make this a safer and better world for everyone.  We were once a generous nation driven more by virtue and ideology than by self-absorption and instant-gratification.  We once managed our finances responsibly which allowed us to lead and to respond immediately in time of crisis, and to challenge the bullies among us.  Sadly, this is not the case today.  Our growing demand for domestic entitlements, our grotesque national debt, and our continued disregard for balanced budgets, has literally stripped this nation of its teeth -- we have become a paper tiger.  How do you propose to be that worldwide force for good without the financial wherewithal to be the leader of the free world?

By now, you probably think I am woefully naive when it comes to matters of government and politics.  You may have concluded my altruistic tendencies have preempted my ability to grasp the nature of humans and the reality in which we exist.  But this I know -- aspirations are the energy of nobility.  If we are not aspiring for something greater than what we have become or have already achieved, then we are on the same course as every other failed society before us.

All the very best,

Bill Monroe

Gun Control

January 11, 2013


The Honorable Kenny E. Marchant
1110 Longworth House Office Building
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Representative Marchant:

Please tell me you understand the 2nd Amendment has nothing to do with hunting, target shooting or personal safety.

Please tell me you believe our government is every bit as capable of subjugating the American people as any government in the history of mankind.

Please tell me you understand that our nation is one natural cataclysmic event or economic calamity from lawlessness and martial law.

Please tell me you believe the best defense against a tyrannical government and lawlessness is an armed citizenry.

Please tell me you reject simplistic, reactionary solutions to complex and troubling issues.

Please tell me you embrace the power of enduring principles over the path of least resistance and self-promotion.

Respectfully,



Bill Monroe

Embrace the Successful

The highest of all wage and income earners are unquestionably the most essential element of capitalism and free markets. It is impossible to have a robust middle-class and a vibrant economy without them -- period, end of discussion! While there may be aspects of this socio-economic group that we despise and disdain, to demonize and decry their success is tantamount to committing economic suicide. Taking the bad with the good is simply a law of nature -- eliminating the bad serves only to eliminate the good.


If you’re able-bodied and not one of our wealthier citizens, too bad, get over it! Your present status has nothing to do with the circumstances and events of your life or the actions of other persons. Acknowledge that you are where you are through the choices you alone have made. Your DNA might not contain the drive, passion, ambition or work ethic necessary to excel at, well, anything. Nevertheless, that reality doesn’t entitle you to quit, bemoan the success of others, or become a ward of the state. Or, your passion may have directed you to a calling for which the financial rewards are limited at best. Again, too bad, embrace your choices and seek the joy and happiness found in fulfillment of a dream. But please don’t despise others simply because their dreams don’t look like yours.

Wake-Up Call for Labor

September 4, 2012

Mr. Lee Saunders
President
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
1625 L Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20036-5687

Dear Mr. Saunders:

America had better wise up; the rest of the world wants the prosperity we have so long enjoyed and nearly monopolized, and they’ll work just as hard as we did to get it – they’ll work longer hours, for less pay, and with fewer rights and benefits to achieve prosperity.

This is a wake-up call for those who believe they are immune from the realities of the marketplace. But you know this; you know that American workers must be competitive in the global market. So why do you pursue an agenda that clearly has been created in a vacuum? Winning by any means, at any cost, has always been a losing proposition.

I can only surmise that your agenda is not to strengthen our nation nor contribute to restoring our vibrant economy. I believe you are one of the many bullies among us. Your pursuit is for your glory, your prestige, your power, your influence, and your fortune. History will not treat you kindly. I believe your legacy will be a constant humiliation to your posterity.

Sincerely,

Bill Monroe

Right-To-Work

Please help me understand how right-to-work laws are undemocratic, bad for workers and bad for the economy. The basic right of every American is the freedom of choice. In fact, our great prosperity can only be attributed to this fundamental principle of our liberty.

When opposing forces engage in the contest for the hearts and minds of their constituencies, it is this freedom of choice that fuels the energy, the passion, and the creativity of opposing arguments. It is this process that elevates and stretches us beyond the status quo to reach for the ideals we have embraced. It is the duty, responsibility, and obligation of any advocate to carefully, thoughtfully, and persuasively articulate and promote the legitimacy and worthiness of the cause. This is not the easy path but it is the one which ensures we prevent intentional abuses of our idealism.

To compel anyone to do anything is rarely, if ever, a good idea. In fact, coercion is the tool of the impotent and the incompetent and is an admission the argument is unworthy and indefensible. And this I have observed; those who employ the tactics of coercion and intimidation do so as a means to fulfill their personal ambitions without regard for the consequences to others. It is also the irrefutable evidence of their complete lack of trust and faith in our fellow citizen to make informed choices. Those who fail to inform and persuade become remnants of history and undeserving of our respect and admiration.

In nearly every other endeavor of the human spirit, it is the freedom of choice that propels great achievement. And if we know that to be true, why would we choose otherwise? Possibly because mandatory membership maximizes revenues and thereby inflates the union bosses’ power and influence, and control over those who would choose not to join. To refuse to join the union may be selfish and self-serving, but do we want to live in a society where our behavior, our affiliations are mandated by a controlling entity?

Right-to-Work laws reflect the essence of free markets which perpetually change and evolve to meet the ever-changing climate of supply and demand. Maintaining the status quo is the surest path to decline and failure. It is incongruent to believe the labor market should somehow be insulated from the certainty of economic cycles. And it is incongruent to want the benefits provided by free markets without accepting the attendant risk. Unions should accept the same degree of risk of failure as do the employers they serve. Allowing union membership to rise and fall in response to the economy is the safeguard against the union losing its vitality, its focus on the individual member, and its value to society. Free markets abhor any suggestion that anyone is entitled to anything. The past does not create an entitlement for the future -- change is the only constant in our lives and you either embrace it or be crushed by it.

The only conclusion we can draw from those who support mandatory union membership is they reject the principles of liberty, democracy and free markets in favor of a system that subjugates the individual's right to freedom of choice. Centralized planning and control of the populace, at any level, has never created the utopian society originally intended. And since we know this to be true, why do some among us continue to pursue a philosophy that guarantees failure?Right-To-Work

Governor Lincoln D. Chafee

November 30, 2012

The Honorable Lincoln D. Chafee
82 Smith Street
Providence, RI 02903

Dear Governor Chafee:

I am so sad for you! Not because you're liberal, or influential, or powerful, or successful, or even financially secure. I am sad for you because you have lost whatever character, integrity, courage, or common sense you may once have possessed. You've allowed your life to become a continual suppression of your convictions and your individuality.

Today would have been the 138th birthday of the modern world’s greatest leader, diplomat and statesman. You remind me of his predecessor. If you were my platoon leader during the Vietnam War, I would have maintained a safe distance from your location at all times. I am thankful my father taught me timeless and enduring values, and that it takes what’s behind the belt buckle to deliver what’s behind the eyebrows.

Sincerely,

Bill Monroe