I watched a good portion of the impeachment hearings this week and I was struck by many things, but at the top was the number of people involved in Foreign Service. Ukraine, by most standards, is a small country with little direct impact on our country. Yes, Russia’s invasion of Crimea and continuing assault on the eastern part of the country is not good, but it’s not our fight. Still, I saw a parade of Ambassadors, Directors, Deputies, Assistant (fill in the blank) and, Assistant to the Assistants. Moreover, behind all these lofty titles are legions of people staffing the underlying ”work”. This, for one small country. No wonder there are communication snafus! Trying to keep everyone on the same page probably takes another titled person with a staff. WAIT! That would be the Interagency Coordination team.
Politicians bloat up a bureaucracy creating a need for another level of bureaucracy to help run the bureaucracy they already created, and all on our dime. That these government employees are also part of unions who negotiate with the very same politicians creates the insidious circle of more unionized employees with more clout over our governance. Should a disruptor appear on the scene, woe to them if they threaten the status quo.
Testimony this week reminded me of the story of an exhibitor at McCormick place in Chicago. He wanted carpeting on the floor of his exhibit and brought some to roll out. He started to do so, but was stopped by a union official who said that only a union worker can install the carpet. The exhibitor wanted to plug in his lights and, once again, was stopped by a union official who said a union electrician must install (plug?) all electrical connections. When he tried to wheel in his products, he was informed that a union warehouseman must bring his product from the dock to his exhibit. The Foreign Service officials who testified seem to say that the efforts of the President went around the “union” and for that, they ”resisted”. What a waste.
Current Day Publius 