Bureaucrats and bank robbery
I live on an island… at its closest, the mainland is a giddying 73 feet away. There are 2 road bridges and a 100 year old rail trestle connecting us to civilization. Those of you who are into robbing banks would avoid Gloucester, understanding that your getaway would be difficult… the police quickly close the bridges.
So… when a local bank was robbed awhile ago, authorities quickly determined that they weren't dealing with a Dillinger. His first mistake was using a taxi as a getaway car… a plan that quickly went awry when the cabbie turned on the radio and heard about the robbery on the news.
Thinking fast (that's sarcasm) the robber asked to be dropped at the railroad station…. figuring he could escape the island on the 2:08 commuter to Boston. Sadly for him, there was ample time for the police to capture him as he sat on a bench waiting for the getaway train.
What the heck was he thinking… depending on public transit for something as important as a bank robbery? Assuming they'd provide timely transportation?
The agency responsible for our commuter-rail service is the MBTA… the same stalwarts whose performance, during winter's blizzards, was so bad that then General Manager Beverly Scott announced her resignation in a bizarre (but entertaining) press conference.
We all mess up. One of my recent columns bore the title “My first accident was a success”… accurately implying that there were others. In each case they cost me something.
In the wake of 9/11 one operator refused to return deposits on charters booked to New York, a monumental marketing mistake that quickly drove them out of business. With a little effort we can all think of bus lines that have failed as a result of a major accident, or business snafu.
That's the way it is in the private sector. Behavior and decisions have consequences.
Contrast that with the governmental response to Beverly Scott. The last of the snow (honest) had barely melted when the President nominated Scott to for a spot on the NTSB. How's THAT for consequences? Scott eventually withdrew from consideration, but still...
It's not the Republicans or Democrats… it's the Bureaucrats. Once you're in… you're in, regardless of qualifications or accomplishment. They take care of each other, and we pay for it, both in terms of money and quality of services. Our mediocre Mayor (a Democrat) resigned to take a “planning” job, hired by our newly elected Republican Governor.
This has gone on for generations, and only changes (briefly) when confronted with catastrophe. It would be fun to weed out the drones, but nearly impossible. Still, it might be enjoyable to chip around the edges.
One perception that government types promote is that they are well intended, while the private sector is somehow only interested in profit. As a result, we should trust them... because they know what's best, and they care about us.
Anyone who has ever dealt with a government agency quickly discovers that layers of bureaucracy make it difficult to find a decision maker. Everyone is just following the rules. Legislators are reluctant to get involved in the process they've turned loose on us, because they might be held responsible for the results. Bureaucrats come up with expensive regulations and technology that MIGHT make things better, and by golly, they're willing to let US take the risk of implementing them.
Business is Darwinian. If you can't make things work right, you disappear. Ask any dinosaur. Unless you have a monopoly (like the transit authorities) market forces determine your fate.
Excuses may work briefly but, as Ben Franklin said “He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else.” Modern information technology makes the market very efficient… and lethal… a far better regulator than bureaucracy.
Government entities seem to have discovered an antidote for Darwin. There's always an excuse for screw-ups… and on the rare occasion that they admit failure, it's often impossible to find an individual to take responsibility. What creativity exists is invariably aimed at finding revenue, not gaining efficiency. Many obscure agencies have found the secret of eternal life.
Can we TRY to hold them to standards similar to what we endure? Fail at a public sector job, and be banned from government employment for a couple of years (like suspending a CDL for traffic violations). Require every regulation to come with contact information for an individual who's responsible for it, and find clear ways to define success. Perhaps a registry of Bureaucrats, so we can track them?
Years ago we DID have a successful bank robbery. Despite a manhunt that involved closing the bridges, the bad guy got away. The assumption is that he took a (private) boat to the mainland.
