Thickening of Government: Federal Hierarchy and the Diffusion of Accountability

Abstract

Light presents a revealing look at how thick government bureaucracy really is, how and why thickening occurs, what difference it might make, and what can be done to both reverse the process and keep the thickening from growing back. He shows how the management layers between the top and bottom of government-between air traffic controllers and the Secretary of Transportation, food inspectors and the Secretary of Agriculture, and so on-have steadily increased. He explains how a government of managers means the president has very little direct access or control over what happens far below, a basic problem of accountability. The author concludes that practically nothing by way of quality management, service government, or employee involvement can work with these towering government agencies. But practically nothing will fail if a radical down-layering is undertaken now.