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Nature of the Bureaucratic
Syndrome
The primary product of the bureaucratic culture is the generation of a surreal
disconnect with society. It is a leading source in the institutionalization of delusion, that has altered the perception of
the proper roles of the individual, and that of their government. The impact and consequences that these abreaction inflicts
upon society, is profound and extensive. The concept and meaning in the nature of a 'Public Servant' has been diluted from
its traditional role. The relationship that has emerged is foreign to our heritage, and has placed the governmental employee
in the guise of the master. The citizen has been reduced to a beggar, requesting favors from a minion, who is being paid with
our own funds. Think about this illogical method and function for a minute!
All wealth is generated as a result of a profit from a business transaction.
The private sector is an euphemism for an exchange of money within a commerce endeavor. The world has always operated of this
principle; countless actions that produce all the goods and services that human needs require, and desire. Money is but the
medium of exchange for the cost in a perceived value, that all parties agree upon. The essential supposition that performing
a business activity is based upon a transfer of funds, goes unspoken. All of commerce shares this fundamental function. So
what is the proper role in the administration of government, towards the individual who is the generator of all wealth?
Wealth is based upon the 'rights' of private property. This concept has been
so abused and distorted that few understand the meaning of their own rights. This confusion causes a vacuum of identity. Into
this caldron enters the Bureaucrat. By enactment of legislation, those who administer the programs and functions of government
are employees, hired help . . . Authority for the public sector, originates from the consent of the citizen; and is endowed
upon government to protect individual rights, establish order, and codify prohibitions and limits of conflicts. This authority
is not extended to the management of government, directly from the citizen. The mission for the implementation of laws is
to honor their intent and to protect the rights of the individual. Sorry to say, the record of the Bureaucracy seldom recognizes
this purpose, as their charge. We all know the horror stories, I need not provide more. But what is required, is a recognition
that all government actions are based upon the transfer of wealth, through taxes; that funds EVERY program, service and function.
The acknowledgment that government is the ultimate consumer of wealth, and
not its creator; is crucial to achieve a society of, and by, a 'Free People'. The Bureaucrats has learned their trade under
the tutelage of generations of career minded advocacy survivors. The most committed in expanding the size of their fiefdom
and their budget, rise to head departments. Accountability is seldom practiced and control of waste is routinely ignored.
At the heart of this system exists a contortion of roles. The citizen tax payer is a customer. He is contracting for a service,
but government is the biggest of all monopolies! The effective ability to shop at another store is not available. And the
option to boycott Chinese goods, is not feasible; when made in the USA stamp, is placed upon its mandates. Why is this relationship
so difficult for so many to understand? Why have most people accepted the notion that government is different from any other
commerce association? What is this 'so called' unique status that justifies a subjugation role of the employer to the employee?
So you say there is nothing that can be done to correct this equilibrium reversal?
Well, if you accept that, we are all domed. The solution is to recognize the TRUE nature of a 'Public Servant', and change
the cultural attitude that has constructed and perpetuates the current falsehoods. Government employment is NOT a career or
a profession. It should be a privilege to serve and protect the public. The only way to accomplish this objective is to place
time limits for employment, on ALL government personnel. The core reasons and motivations for aspiring to enter the Bureaucracy,
must be removed. Security of position, above market benefits, superior pensions and limited accountability; are the foremost
rationale for those who seek government occupations. No other industry enjoys the protection from market realities and competition.
Government makes the laws, administers and regulates these rules, and then enforces penalties for non compliance. All of this
is done with 'other people's money'. The beneficiaries of this process is analogous to the fox guarding the hens. Looking
and hoping for reform from WITHIN this systemic praetorian enterprise is lunacy.
The course to sanity requires that all government pensions, including those
of elected officials; need to be abolished. No other single reform would have a greater impact to break the cycle of Bureaucratic
domination. Sunset laws on all programs, departments and agencies is a close second. The reason that government continually
expands and budgets rise far in excess to inflation, is that no one within this protected system, desires their influence
to contract. Every incentive in the Bureaucracy is designed to resist reforms. Only a continued rotation of fresh faces with
no vested interest in long term service, will have a chance, to alter the entrenchment. For 'Public Service' to be admired,
it must be limited. Any sensible person will admit that paying over fifty percent of your income to support this blotted,
intrusive and unresponsive system, is a goal worth pursuing. For those who will say, government will never be able to staff
their programs? I reply, thank God! How else can government shrink? Limited government has been abandoned long ago. With its
demise, the Republic was dismembered.
We hear so much about self determination, but when it comes down to specifics;
we are told that the 'common good' requires all the government that can be grown. Isn't it time to expand your own wealth
and contract that of the regulators? With the continued Balkanization of America, the notion that government can force an
all inclusive society is absurd. The Bureaucrat IS the instrument of coercion. We have all heard the saying, "We are from
the government, and are here to help you". Sorry folks, those officials are YOUR hired hands. And if they views their role
in any other way, they will not be your new friends. We all show caution when we spend our own money. So why do you view the
taxes you pay differently? It's your money, demand value. Or get rid of the monopoly . . . and restore prudence in public
functions. Maybe the Bureaucrat you replace, will be the civic service that you can contribute. Our duty is to resist this
tragic cycle. This Syndrome needs to be cured.
SARTRE - April 9, 2001
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