North Carolinians protest cuts to government services and the social safety net in the name of government efficiency. (Photo: Clayton Henkel/NC Newsline)
Efficiency in the delivery of government services is a good thing that should always be enthusiastically encouraged. It’s a concept that people on all sides of the political spectrum support.
That said, efficiency alone is no guarantee of good or adequate services. An understaffed and stressed-out team of teachers, (or DMV staffers, or prison guards) might be efficient as all get out, but if there simply aren’t enough hours in the day for them to complete all of their work in quality fashion without going crazy, their efficiency is meaningless and even counterproductive.
Let’s hope state lawmakers keep this simple truth in mind as they launch a pair of new committees inspired by billionaire Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency in Washington.
Tragically and ironically, Musk’s initiative — which has featured mass, indiscriminate firings that threaten scores of basic services based on literally zero evidence — is the antithesis of efficiency.
The bottom line: Government efficiency may be all the rage, but unless they’re approached with care, efforts to promote it can easily make things worse rather than better.
For NC Newsline, I’m Rob Schofield.