Dictionary.com defines bureaucracy as 1) government by many bureaus, administrative, and petty officials and 2) excessive multiplication of, and concentration of power in, administrative bureaus or administrators.
In class and in the textbook, the perks of bureaucracy are that, ideally, they promote competence, consistency, fair treatment, and freedom from political manipulation.Ideally, this occurs because bureaucratic decisions are made based on rules and regulations and the bureaucracy itself is made up of “experienced and expert personnel of the top civil service.”
However, the ideal view of bureaucracy isn’t exactly the reality. The textbook refers to these as “negative connotations associated with the word bureaucracy.”It then lists the following problems: they can be inflexible, insensitive, and inefficient bureaucrats that find few incentives to actually to work hard and more often seek to satisfy personal interests (this, of course, is an overgeneralization….there might be some good bureaucrats out there!). These bureaucracies have only increased in size, though many are obsolete and they are sucking money from a government that really should downsize them.
There is a bureaucracy today that is imposing itself on your life and creeping right into your house and dunking itself in your cereal bowl. This bureaucracy is a part of the dairy industry and is not only completely useless today, but it was formed over seventy years ago (keep in mind pre-sophisticated highway systems and pre-fancy refrigerated trucks) in response to problems during the Great Depression with making sure everyone had an adequate, safe, and fresh supply of milk. The bureaucracy was formed to guarantee this supply to satisfy local demand as well as keep a uniform pricing system within the milk market.
Mind you, that was the 1930’s. Today, with modern technology in farming, refrigeration, and transportation, there is no need for such concern. There’s little to no trouble keeping grocery stores across the country stocked with clean, safe, Grade A milk. Instead of dismantling, they are currently (as in current...like right now) trying to pass a Federal Milk Marketing Order to continue their control over prices of milk by raising handling fees that eventually get passed on to the consumer.
But why the bureaucracy? It is made up of hundreds of paid employees that today, are simply inflating milk prices. It is an excessive waste of money for the government and American families and it is offering no obvious benefit to anyone other than the members of the bureaucracy. Additionally, the passage of this Order could only hurt American families that are already struggling with their budget.
This bureaucracy is one of many that are obsolete and is simply milking the government for money.
