It’s a Group Project–What’s a Bureaucrat to Do??

By Stephen G. Harding

“It’s no surprise that the governed are not happy with their government. Yet it would be naïve for state and local officials to think this attitude ends at the federal level. Governmental agencies are pressed to meet the conflicting expectations of elected officials and competing interests of a socio-economic diverse society. Bureaucracy’s overly narrow focus on perfecting the rules of governance fail to address or satisfy the democratic needs of the people.”

http://patimes.org/whats-bureaucrat-do/

Right around a decade ago, this was one of a dozen essays I penned for the American Society for Public Administration, (ASPA), PA Times. Whatever your perspective may be, this piece is probably more applicable today than it was then. The end of my near 40 year career was in sight and there were, and as it turns out, a host of issues I still need to address. If I were writing these articles today, I would be more direct especially when it comes to so many members of the meritocracy that are seemingly obtuse to the importance of the democratic workings of our republic. The people we serve are not just customers and clients. They are citizens and so are we.

After all, “It is a Group Project.”