Know Your Enemy
Red tape is, literally, the enemy.
US Army takes on most effective counter-drone system yet: Red tape
In an updated version of Catch-22, Yossarian would be a drone operator.
‘The US Army is looking to reclassify some of its small drones because of a concerning flaw that hinders their effectiveness in the field: soldiers who don’t want to fly them for fear of the red tape that comes with losing one.
‘Currently, every time a US Army soldier loses or breaks a drone — regardless of its size or price tag — they are saddled with reporting paperwork, a mandatory investigation and possibly a loss of pay.’
Bureaucratic bottleneck: A struggle for residency
Bureaucracy has a human cost.
Difficulties in recruiting people to work in these institutions compounds the problem.
‘The situation has worsened since the Covid pandemic, as staffing shortages have compounded the backlog. With less than 350 permanent staff members processing these applications, the system is overwhelmed, leaving countless people in limbo.’Bottom of Form
Bureaucratic Efficiency or Democratic Participation?
Efforts to centralize and federalize administration in the United States may be self-defeating in the long term if it reduces democratic buy-in.
Subsidiarity is embedded in US institutions.
‘Compared to many countries, he continued, U.S. bureaucracy is quite decentralized; even federally funded programs focus service delivery at the local level. The current model, established by the Department of Agriculture and echoed across a wide variety of other programs, holds that the hopes of citizens should guide program design and implementation.
‘“The thinking is that, to the degree that citizens think that their opinion will be listened to, it is worth their time and effort to participate,” said Meier. “So, opinions about the value of participation enhance its influence on bureaucratic effectiveness and, generally, program satisfaction.”
‘However, participation also poses costs, driven by the money, time, and other logistical considerations involved in creating opportunities for citizen feedback and mediating among conflicting views.‘
France Has Met The Enemy and They Are ACRONYMS
Language is vital when it comes to bureaucracy because it can be used to obscure what they are doing. It is an abstraction when abused. It diminishes democratic, popular control.
‘The government of President Emmanuel Macron is trying again as part of a new effort to simplify France’s labyrinthine bureaucracy—a task attempted by every French president over the last 50 years. “We have nothing but acronyms, it’s awful,” Macron said in a meeting with business executives this year.’
The President or some politician can distance themselves from policies that restrict some activity.
They’ll say, “I won’t tell you that you can’t do X.”
They’re technically correct.
It’s the bureaucracy that shuts it down with myriad rules.
‘“The Biden-Harris administration’s pursuit of a radical environmental agenda caused 700 hard-working miners at Montana’s Stillwater mine to be laid off. This is heartbreaking. Even worse, Biden and Harris have had years to fix this problem and refused. While this announcement is a positive step, it falls short of putting American miners before foreign suppliers and has every appearance of a cynical and desperate political attempt to get votes right before the election. Montana’s mining families will see through it. If Biden and Harris were serious about helping our miners they would have reversed their anti-mining policies years ago.”’
Indo-Pacific Nations Outpacing the US in Crypto Regulation, SEC Commissioner Says
Regulation of crypto is feasible.
‘He stressed that while the U.S. continues to grapple with unclear regulatory frameworks for digital assets, countries like Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Australia have taken a leadership role in fostering innovation while protecting investors. Uyeda praised the regulatory advancements in the Indo-Pacific, stating: “I believe there is much to learn from market regulators in the Indo-Pacific region on how to promote these values and objectives.”
‘The SEC commissioner highlighted how countries in the region have crafted forward-looking regulations that balance the need for innovation with investor protection. For instance, Hong Kong has introduced a stablecoin licensing regime, Singapore has committed $150 million to promote fintech, Japan has issued guidelines for crypto exchange supervision, and Australia has its own regulatory sandbox.’