From: Damien R. Sullivan (phoenix@ugcs.caltech.edu)
Date: Tue Sep 08 1998 - 19:10:34 MDT
On Sep 6, 1:49am, "maxm" wrote:
> There is a fundamental "law" about growth in the public sector called
> Parkinson law. It says something in the line of: "Every public official will
One econ textbook described the "cost disease" of the service (including
public) sector: as productivity and wages go up in high capital industries
wages elsewhere must go up somewhat, but efficiency in service industries
doesn't increase as much, if at all, so they become more expensive and
relatively less efficient and productive.
> I once got the idea that there is a need for a new "organ" whos sole
> responsibility is to analyze the net worth of the other governement organs
> and then cut down on the inefficient ones. That way growth should be kept in
The General Accounting Office of the US does the first half of that. At least
it analyzes programs and audits departments; it could probably analyze
departments as well. The cutting down bit is the hard part.
-xx- Damien R. Sullivan X-)
I once was a giant but now I'm a craven,
My dirge is of white sheep and the black raven.
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