Pop Quiz
What computer pioneer said: “Fools ignore complexity. Pragmatists suffer it. Some can avoid it. Geniuses remove it.”?
What political lecturer said: “It is not possible to refer a complex difficulty to a single cause.”?
What business theorist said: “If you can’t describe what you are doing as a process, you don’t know what you’re doing.”?
What novelist said: “The control of information is something the elite always does, particularly in a despotic form of government. Information, knowledge, is power. If you can control information, you can control people.”?
What economist said: “It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong.”?
Answers at the end of the post.
Paralysis by analysis is a longstanding criticism of the decision making process. This paralysis can be driven by too much data, too little information or inaccurate evidence. The larger the organization, business or political, the more difficult the job of securing accurate, complete and timely information.
Decision making requires the collection of accurate and complete information. Critical thinking is essential to the decision making process. This involves analyzing available facts and evidence followed by the solicitation of conflicting points of view and arguments to ensure informed choices are made and implemented. Political viewpoints should never be part of the decision making process.
The decision making problems we face today at the Federal level are threefold: (1) the jurisdiction of our masters in Washington is far too expansive and unwieldy; (2) the decision making process is too dependent on unelected bureaucrats who seem unable or unwilling to provide accurate and complete information; and, (3) politics is the sine qua non, the confounding variable, of all decisions made in Washington.
The Early Years
When President Washington took office on April 30, 1789 the concept of a Constitutional Republic was new to the world. Washington managed the government with only four cabinet secretarial offices: State, Treasury, War and the Attorney General. There was also an office, Postmaster General, that had been created in 1775.
There were no new cabinet level positions created in the next 60 years. The long forgotten Zachary Taylor, who served as President for only 16 months, created the Department of the Interior in 1849. For those 60 years the country was not unmanageable as the GDP was only about $4.4 billion and there was no expansive bureaucracy.
The scope of the Federal government changed dramatically in 1861 with the outbreak of the Civil War. Yet Lincoln managed the country, throughout that War, with only six cabinet officers as well as the Secretary of Navy and the Postmaster General.
Historically the role of the Vice President was a source of ridicule. The joke was that there were two brothers, one went to sea and the other became the Vice President…neither was heard from again. A great example of the inconsequence of that office is that 98.7% of the US population cannot name Lincoln’s first term VP. The Presidency was a one person show and despite this reality the country managed to execute it’s Manifest Destiny and produced an economy that became the envy of the world. It was the application of the aphorism…the government governs best that governs least.
The Progressive Topsy
The arrival of the dirigistic Progressive movement began the conversion of the Federal government into a unmanageable Leviathan which, over time, has become a modern Augean Stables. In direct correlation the President has become the CEO of the world’s largest enterprise, an enterprise that requires a Herculean manager. Sadly the practice of politics precludes the election of anyone even remotely Herculean.
The job is made more difficult by the fact that politics is an immutable law of nature with the selection and election of the CEO who will occupy the White House. The immense volume of information required to manage the Executive branch is beyond the ken of the best managers in the world and definitely problematic for the mediocrities who often end up in the Oval Office.
As such there are systems that must be put in place to ensure that the decisions made by the President are based accurate and complete information. In practice, however, such decisions are dependent on the performance of many disparate layers of unelected bureaucrats who seem unable or unwilling to provide accurate and complete information to support the decision making process. In addition the President has the need of advice and counsel from unbiased advisors who can speak candidly about subjects that are essential to the administration of the government.
The Gatekeepers
Chris Whipple has authored a very informative book entitled The Gatekeepers. The key gatekeepers have been the Chiefs of Staff of the President and they have a level of power that can make or break every Administration. In addition there is, invariably, a bevy of “advisors” about which little is known. The story of the last century at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue shows a disturbing trend in how much our Presidents have been controlled by the advisors behind the curtain.
Woodrow Wilson was a Presidential wrecking ball. Four Amendments were added to the Constitution during his reign of terror. In 1913 the 16th Amendment was ratified under which the Congress was given the power to levy income taxes. It gave birth to the tender ministrations of the Internal Revenue Service. In that same year the 17th Amendment provided for the direct election of US Senators. The 18th Amendment has since been repealed but the intent was to ban the manufacture sale and distribution of alcoholic beverages. Hello prohibition and Al Capone…government power was unleashed and the FBI grew accordingly.
The lowlight of the Wilson Administration, however, was the first shadow presidency, Wilson suffered a debilitating stroke in 1919 and his wife Edith became his “gatekeeper” deciding who would have access to the befuddled President. Wilson became a puppet President and unfortunately not the last such office holder.
Franklin Roosevelt, who was not very bright to begin with, was managed very closely by Harry Hopkins who, as it turns out, was a Soviet spy. Hopkins actually resided in the White House, the better to ensure FDR made the “proper” decisions. The last thirty months of the FDR death march against the Constitution was managed by a shadow cabinet under the leadership of Hopkins. When Truman took office he discovered the activities of Hopkins and disbanded the renegade cabal that had been abusing the levers of power for a decade. An example of the damage done by Hopkins involves the FDR Bromance with Joseph Stalin. FDR told a US Ambassador that Stalin was really not a bad fellow defending his argument by noting that ” Harry says he’s not and that he doesn’t want anything in the world but security of his country and…he won’t try to annex anything and will work with me for a world of democracy and peace.” Stalin could not be reached for comment as he was supervising the fabrication of an Iron Curtain.
Recent History of Puppet Presidents
Barack Obama was a marionette for eight years. Valerie Jarrett was pulling his strings with the assistance of the likes of Anita Dunn, Susan Rice and Stephanie Powers. This gaggle of harridans effectively controlled his teleprompter upon which Obama was completely dependent for all of his extemporaneous thoughts. Obamacare, aka the Not Very Affordable Care Act, is the Mount Trashmore of his term in office. After Obama left office Jarrett moved into his personal residence such that she could maintain control of the amperage to the alligator clips.
Yet Obama was a ball of fire compared to the four year slumber party that was the Biden Administration. Biden appointed the first totally DEI cabinet and it can be safely stated that Biden himself was unaware of trip hazards on various stages, anything that was signed with the autopen and any other actions undertaken by “his” White House. It has been confirmed that his loving wife Bruno and his son Hunter, the smartest man Joe ever knew, presided over cabinet meetings in the White House. This is the functional equivalent of giving a bottle of bourbon and the keys to the Ferrari to a 16 year old with a driving permit.
The election of Donald Trump in 2016 parted the curtain behind which the Deep State was manipulating the day to day operations of the government. The ability of the President to manage events was sabotaged by the likes of James Comey, Anthony Fauci, John Brennan and James Clapper. Information was withheld, data was manipulated and stories were selectively leaked to the media. The judicial branch ran interference for the bureaucratic state. The media ran a blitzkrieg of negative stories about Trump and members of his team. Trump was the proverbial monkey in the wrench, exposing the Left as a naked emperor.
Trump is unique among our 45 Presidents. He has actually accomplished things in the real world and understands management and the decision making process. He is transactional and not political and these behaviors influence all of his decisions. Unlike Democrats Trump actually manifests a learning curve. He is working to downsize and delayer the governing process. DOGE is his tool for exposing waste and corruption. Success is measured by the decibel level of the faux outrage from the Left, the media and Jimmy Kimmel.
But have no fear, Susie Wiles is on the case…
Answers to the pop quiz:
What computer pioneer said: “Fools ignore complexity. Pragmatists suffer it. Some can avoid it. Geniuses remove it.”? Alan Perlis
What political lecturer said: “What It is not possible to refer a complex difficulty to a single cause.”? Helen Keller
What business theorist said: “If you can’t describe what you are doing as a process, you don’t know what you’re doing.”? Edwards Deming
What novelist said: “The control of information is something the elite always does, particularly in a despotic form of government. Information, knowledge, is power. If you can control information, you can control people.”? Tom Clancy
What economist said: “It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong”? Thomas Sowell
Katie Gates
Bryce thanks for enlightening us on the Trojan horses throughtout history complicit in the rise of big government and the erosion of our traditional American and founding values. The egregious abuse of the general welfare, commerce and necessary and proper clauses has allowed our government to grow up checked and unbridled by we the people who are supposed to hold the whip of accountability. So if limited govt and self governance by those living in and professing a judeo christian moral and virtuous worldview is no longer taught or modeled, how can ee expect this experiment in a constirutional republic to be sustained? What are your thoughts on an educational reset combined with Gods hand in the affairs of men in our semiquincentennia vs military intervention by the feds which may result in civil war to accomplish a wake up call and reset?
Ron
Oh my gosh…”Augean Stables”, “the tender ministrations of the IRS”, “Stalin supervising the fabrication of the Iron Curtain”, Obama’s “gaggle of Harridans”, “Mount Trashmore”, “Bruno” together present a brilliant cacophony of humor. Great post.
So why do we end up with “mediocrities’ elected to the highest office in the world?
In 1789, 28,009 votes were tallied out of a free population of around 2.4 million. Only God knows what decision criteria these voters used to choose their candidate.
We’ve now been at this process for 250 years, and still only God knows what decision criteria voters use to choose their candidates! And therein lies the problem.
A rational or common sense based individual might posit that one should vote for individuals who most closely mirror their views on the most important issues…i.e. issues that have far reaching, long term effects likely to shape the face of our nation for decades and/or preserve a way of life we find dear. Examples might be freedom, sovereignity, law and order, the national economy, the size of government and spending, education, respect for our constitution, foreign policy and so on. Yet, millions allow candidates to muddle through the nomination process without coherent positions on these massive issues, opting instead to cast their vote for the candidate who will allow men to play in women’s sports or expand the monthly EBT card deposit or promise “hope and change” of undetermined type. It seems we have learned very little in 250 years!
Some might say “It’s the education system, stupid!”