Ironman
It's not easy being amazing.
California Bureaucrats Slap Down the Air Force and SpaceX over Politics
The movie Falling Down was an excellent character study in which an engineer freshly laid-off from a defense contractor goes on an angry rampage through the streets of Los Angeles. This was part of the meltdown in that sector on the West Coast. It’s easy to forget what a powerhouse in aerospace and defense California used to be.
Foreign-born entrepreneur comes along and revitalizes the California space industry. SpaceX, his company, has done wonderful things.
California wildlife commission demands concessions to permit him to continue operating. Working with one of his largest clients, the US Air Force, they accede to all of them.
Commission denies the application anyway because politics. Of course, they do. They have the power and they’re going to invest in a bad decision to extend (or at a minimum) protect the power they have currently.
When does SpaceX get more aggressive about moving some of its 13,000 employees out of California?
‘The rejection was clearly based on petty politics disguised by a fig leaf of regulatory concern. “We’re dealing with a company, the head of which has aggressively injected himself into the presidential race,” Chairwoman Caryl Hart lamented. Her colleague Mike Wilson ranted about Musk’s wealth and his social-media platform, X. Former union official Gretchen Newsom (no relation to California’s governor) railed against Musk for “spewing and tweeting political falsehoods.”
‘The commission’s rejection is aimed at a cutting-edge company that has revitalized California’s aerospace industry, which was flattened by the end of the Cold War. In 20 years, Musk has turned his SpaceX start-up into a $210 billion behemoth that employs 13,000 people in the state. It will continue to employ thousands even after it moves its executive operations to Texas in a couple years.
‘To win approval for its plans to increase the number of rocket launches from Vandenberg, the Air Force agreed last month to meet seven demands the California Coastal Commission had made to reduce the environmental impact of the launches — including the closer monitoring of a local colony of snowy plovers. Despite having its demands met, the commission gave the Air Force the back of its hand last week.’
Hierarchy doesn’t bring with it bureaucracy necessarily. It just so happens that the two grow in tandem. But some hierarchy and some bureaucracy can be healthy if they stave off counter-productive chaos.
The problem is controlling and directing the growth of these administrative phenomena. Easier said than done.
It is interesting to see how organic the growth of bureaucracy in organizations that grow beyond a certain level can be.
‘The evidence is clear that a healthy hierarchy with effective managers can help reduce operational ambiguity. It can help align the team around shared goals, resolve conflicts, speed up progress, and ensure that people’s development and well-being are looked after. Columbia professor Adam Galinsky showed in several studies that if you need a collaborative team to solve complex problems, you’re better off with a boss in the mix instead of a group of equal friends.’
Keir Starmer vows to rip up bureaucracy to unleash ‘shock and awe’ of investment
Keir Starmer, by many accounts, is having a terrible time in office. Apparently, electing a prosecutor instead of a seasoned public-sector or private-sector executive is not a terribly great idea.
He is correct in thinking that growth is the only cure for what ails us.
Is he credible? Or is this just the newest season of Yes, Minister?
I’ll believe it when I see it.
‘Starmer told the meeting at London’s Guildhall he would tell regulators the “key test of regulation is of course growth” and that ministers would back cutting-edge sectors through a new industrial strategy.
‘The UK premier depicted the summit as a critical moment in reviving the country’s global standing. “We are determined to improve it and repair Britain’s brand as an open, outward-looking, confident, trading nation,” he said.’
Utah Republicans push back against government regulation of crypto
Like AI, crypto is a problem for the federal government. The longer it takes to establish its regulatory mark, the greater the risk that the steps step into the breach, establishing the norms around which industry will adapt its operations.
What are the chances that the state regulators know enough to regulate crypto in the most efficient manner?
‘On Friday, Utah’s Republican senator Mike Lee outlined three outcomes that could imperil the nascent cryptocurrency industry: (1) the creation of a central bank digital currency, (2) patchwork regulation by states, and (3) heavy-handed federal regulation.
‘Speaking at the Permissionless III crypto conference in Salt Lake City, Lee said that the trio of possibilities presented grave risks to the fast-growing digital assets sector. Lee and his fellow Republican congressman John Curtis were particularly critical of federal and state regulation of digital assets, likening it to financial surveillance that could stifle the crypto industry.’
Sturzenegger’s bill targeting ‘obsolete’ laws, bureaucracy reaches Congress
Milei moves while he can. Who knows how much time he will have before he gets the hook? His best bet is to obtain a measure of progress above some political threshold so that he can replenish his political capital, much of which is being depleted with the harshness of his policies one would imagine.
Interestingly, he is targeting policies that include those that impair individual freedom. Some of these are highlighted in the article and they are shocking.
It’s easy to forget what a miracle the United States has been.
‘President Javier Milei’s government on Monday sent Congress a bill that would repeal some 70 laws as part of a drive to slash bureaucracy and red tape.
The so-called ‘Ley Hojarasca,’ or “Leaf litter bill,” targets legislation that the Milei administration considers to be “useless, obsolete or that restrict” the freedom of individuals.
The laws targeted for repeal span back as far as the Arturo Frondizi (1958-1962) Presidency and were introduced by both military and democratic governments.
The sweeping anti-bureaucracy reform push is the brainchild of Deregulation & State Transformation Minister Federico Sturzenegger, the former Central Bank governor who was appointed to Milei’s Cabinet in July.
Biden-Harris bureaucracy nags Musk
You mess with the bureaucracy at your peril.
Imagine the bounty in terms of political capital that will accrue to whoever nails Musk to the cross.
‘Since Mr. Musk’s October 2022 $44 billion Twitter acquisition, Merrick Garland’s Department of Justice has sued SpaceX, Mr. Musk’s rocket and satellite manufacturer, for hiring only American citizens and permanent residents, not migrants.
‘The Federal Communications Commission has revoked his low bid to supply government-subsidized Starlink satellite high-speed internet terminals, like the ones he is rushing to Hurricane Helene-ravaged North Carolina.
‘The Federal Trade Commission is demanding all sorts of documents related to his Twitter buy.
‘The Securities and Exchange Commission is also investigating the Twitter acquisition and has sued Mr. Musk to force him to give a deposition.
‘The Federal Aviation Administration has fined SpaceX over rocket launch violations. Autoworkers are prodding the National Labor Relations Board to investigate Mr. Musk. The Wall Street Journal reported that the SEC and DOJ are investigating the construction of Mr. Musk’s home in Texas. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is investigating environmental damage from a SpaceX rocket explosion.’