Overview

Each year unelected federal administrators write thousands of regulations possessing the force of law. What do these civil servants know about the American people whom they ostensibly serve? Not much, according to this enlightening and disturbing study. The authors surveyed federal agency officials, congressional and White House staffers, and employees of various policy-making organizations about their attitudes toward and knowledge of the public. They found a significant chasm between what official Washington assumes they know about average Americans and the actual opinions and attitudes of American citizens. Even in such basic areas as life circumstances (e.g., income levels, employment, racial makeup) the surveys revealed surprising inaccuracies. And when it comes to policy issues--on such crucial issues as defense, crime, social security, welfare, public education, and the environment--officials' perceptions of the public's knowledge and positions are often wide of the mark. Compounding this ignorance is a pervasive attitude of smug dismissiveness toward the citizenry and little sense of accountability. As a result, bureaucrats tend to follow their own preferences without much reference to the opinions of the public. The authors conclude with recommendations to narrow the gap between official perceptions of the American public and the actual facts. These include shorter terms, rotation from the Washington beltway to local offices, compulsory training in the responsibilities of public office, and better civic education for ordinary citizens in the realities of government and politics.

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9781633882492

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Reviews

An excellent book on a very controversial and chilling topic which we all should be required to read! -- Transatlantic Magazine (on The Value of Violence by Benjamin Ginsberg) Surprising.... Unconventional.... certain to stir controversy. -- Publishers Weekly (on The Worth of War by Benjamin Ginsberg)

There are today roughly 3.5 million civil servants in the United States. These unelected bureaucrats churn out thousands of pages per year of mind-numbingly complex and economically stultifying regulations, with very little oversight or other public accountability. In this fascinating and timely study, Jennifer Bachner and Benjamin Ginsberg demonstrate empirically what many have long suspected: the bureaucrats have their own agenda and hold the people they regulate in contempt. Kudos to Bachner and Ginsberg for exposing the nanny state and making a compelling case for reform. Michael Kellogg, author of Three Questions We Never Stop Asking In the New York State Ratifying Convention, the Anti-Federalist Gilbert Livingston feared the deleterious effects of the federal town created by the Constitution: Government officials, he warned, will reside in this Eden . . . with their families, distant from the observation of the people. In such a situation, men are apt to forget their dependence, lose their sympathy . . . contract selfish habits . . . and thus become strangers to the condition of the common people. In this carefully researched and thoughtfully analyzed book, Bachner and Ginsberg confirm Livingston s prediction. On the basis of their survey of 856 unelected government officials and members of the Washington policy community, they conclude that official Washington lives inside the beltway bubble, in which many civil servants express utter contempt for the citizens they ostensibly serve, in which they rarely interact on an intellectual plane with Americans at large, and in which viewing the public as benighted they concern themselves with how best to induce citizens to obey rather than with how best to serve the public. The title, What Washington Gets Wrong, will suggest to many that the book focuses on examples of governmental incompetence. However, what Bachner and Ginsberg argue Washington really gets wrong is what Lincoln meant when he spoke of government of, by, and for the people. Official Washington residing in its distinct cognitive universe believes this means government of and by unelected policymakers, who believe themselves so superior that they cannot imagine that ordinary folks share their lofty thoughts, and for ordinary people, whom they regard as quite stupid. Yet this is not a doom and gloom book; the authors end with realistic and well-thought-out recommendations for what can be done so that Washington can eventually get things right. Ralph A. Rossum, Salvatori Professor of American Constitutionalism, Claremont McKenna College

Author Information

Jennifer Bachner is the Director of the Master of Science in Government Analytics at Johns Hopkins University. Her recent report, Predictive Policing- Preventing Crime with Data and Analytics, has been published by the IBM Center for the Business of Government. She is also the coeditor (with Kathryn Wagner Hill and Benjamin Ginsberg) of Analytics, Policy and Governance (forthcoming). As an expert on government analytics and political behavior, she has been quoted and/or cited in the Washington Post, Baltimore Sun, Los Angeles Times, Roll Call, and other publications. Benjamin Ginsberg is the David Bernstein Professor of Political Science and Chair of Governmental Studies at the Johns Hopkins University. He is the author of more than twenty books, including Presidential Government; The Worth of War; The Value of Violence; How the Jews Defeated Hitler- Exploding the Myth of Jewish Passivity in the Face of Nazism; and other works.

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