Picured above is a "swamp." As you may or may not know, real world "swamps" often have many environmental benefits. Click this link to see what the Encyclopedia Britainnica has to say about "swamps," and to learn why swamps are, indeed, often environmentally beneficial.
If you look to the bottom of this blog posting, you will find another picture. That is a picture of Dr. Larry Arnn, the current president of Hillsdale College. Dr. Arnn has written an impassioned plea to "Drain the Swamp," this being the title of an article that appeared in the November 2024 edition of Imprimis, which is a publication of Hillsdale College.
Of course, Dr. Arnn isn't talking about "real world" swamps. He is talking about governmental bureaucracy, which he analogizes to a "swamp." Whether in real life, or metaphorically, "swamps" have rarely gotten good press. It is a commonplace of our contemporary political discourse that governmental bureaucracy is best thought of as a "swamp," the metaphor disregarding all the benefits of real life "swamps," and the "real life" benefits of the various governmental and administrative agencies that are at work trying to accomplish various governmental objectives.
If you want to build a new oil refinery on federal lands in Alaska, for instance (this being an example of complaints, generally made by the oil companies), you will find that various governmental regulations will "bog you down," including those regulations promulgated pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which specifically requires our government to "stop and think," before it acts, and to consider the possible "real world" impacts of moving ahead with ideas that might have a negative impact on the natural environment, upon which all of our lives ultimately depend.
In his article, Arnn deplores the problems he sees with the "administrative state," which is what he is talking about when he calls for our recently-elected president to "drain the swamp."
There are LOTS of federal laws and regulations, and they are not all "environmental." In general, our laws and regulations prevent governmental officials (including the president) from doing whatever those officials might think is a great idea without first undertaking a lot of reviews (meaning delays). Our laws and regulations are often intended to slow things down, providing a chance for objections to be heard before the government actually does something that might negatively impact individuals or the society at large.
Arnn is right, of course, to point out that administrative procedures can sometimes cause unwanted and inappropriate delays, and can end up as impediments to things that would really be beneficial. However, the basic complaint he makes, as I understand it, is that ordinary people are not, in fact, participating in the various governmental processes established by our laws, so that we end up being "ruled" by unelected bureaucrats.
If that, actually, is the problem, then what is Arnn's proposed solution?
Well, Arnn is endorsing the ideas of Elon Musk, whom the president has chosen to lead a "Department of Governmental Efficiency" (DOGE). The way most people say it, "DOGE" sounds kind of "smooth." As I pronounce it, though, "DOGE" comes out as sounding like "Dog-E," or "doggy." This not quite a real governmental agency, and I show it no deference. DOGE (Dog-E) is proposing to fire tens of thousands of the so-callled "bureaucrats" who have been entrusted with the administration of the laws enacted by Congress. A proposal by Elon Musk, right at the end of December, was intended to "shut down" the government, entirely, for a month or more, which would actually have had the effect of eliminating, not enhancing, the ability of elected Members of Congress to take action for the people whom they represent.
The real way to make sure that our "administrative state" does what we want is for more of us to become active participants in government. We can do that, too, by making sure, politically, that our so-called "representatives" actually do "represent" us, and that they don't just advance laws aimed at helping out the billionaire class.
Most of us spend very little, if any, time in efforts to make sure that the government does what we want and need it to do, and that the government does not do things of which we disapprove. Because we don't spend any significant amount of time trying to keep our "administrative state" working for us, the "administrative state" is often not well-liked.
Putting self-interested billionaires in charge, though, won't solve the problem, and it won't increase our satisfaction with government. Quite the opposite! If we want "self-government," there is no way to achieve that without getting directly involved in government ourselves.
oooOOOooo
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| Larry Arnn, President Hillsdale College |
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