Why government fails so often : and how it can do better
Peter H. Schuck
Bok · Engelsk · 2014
| Utgitt | Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press , cop. 2014
|
|---|---|
| Omfang | X, 471 s.
|
| Opplysninger | "From healthcare to workplace conduct, the federal government is taking on ever more responsibility for managing our lives. At the same time, Americans have never been more disaffected with Washington, see- - ing it as an intrusive, incompetent, wasteful giant. The most alarming consequence of ineffective policies, in addition to unrealized social goals, is the growing threat to the government's democratic legiti- mac- y. Understanding why government fails so often--and how it might become more effective--is an urgent responsibility of citizenship. In this book, lawyer and political scientist Peter Schuck provides a wide range of examples and an enormous body of evidence to explain why so many domestic policies go awry--and how to right the foundering ship o- f st- ate.Schuck argues that Washington's failures are due not to episodic problems or partisan bickering, but rather to deep structural flaws that undermine every administration, Democratic and Republican. These re- current weaknesses include unrealistic goals, perverse incentives, poor and distorted information, systemic irrationality, rigidity and lac- k of credibility, a mediocre bureaucracy, powerful and inescapable markets, and the inherent limits of law. To counteract each of these problems, Schuck proposes numerous achievable reforms, from avoi- ding mora- l hazard in student loan, mortgage, and other subsidy programs, to empowering consumers of public services, simplifying programs and testingthem for cost-effectiveness, and increasing the use of "big data." The book also examines successful policies--including the G.I. Bill, the Voting Rights Act, the Earned Income Tax Credit, and airlin- e deregulat- ion--to highlight the factors that made them work.An urgent call for reform, Why Government Fails So Often is essential reading for anyone curious about why government is in such disrepute and how it can do be- tter"--
|
| Emner | |
| Geografisk emneord | |
| Dewey | |
| ISBN | 9780691161624
|