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logo    The Disfunctional American Government


There is a lot of talk in America about disfunctional families, but none about our disfunctional government. Americans, apparently, do not recognize its disfunctionality; yet people in other countries do. On Friday, September 30, 2005, the Canadian press ran the following item:

TORONTO - Canada's ambassador to the United States painted an unflattering picture of the way government works south of the border yesterday, calling it "dysfunctional," overly complex and in dire financial straits. . . .

The article cited only one bit of evidence:

He said one senator there has 75 staff members, which shows that U.S. policymaking is "so complex that even people who work within government need help to navigate through it." 

Although this isn't much evidence, there is a huge amount of evidence available.

A common way to judge how well anything is functioning is to judge the results it produces. Judged by this standard, the following list shows just how disfunctional our government is.

1.        When I was in grammar school, I was told that the maxim that epitomized the American judicial system was that it is better that a guilty person go free than an innocent person be convicted. Yet today, the judicial routinely convicts the innocent, sometimes of capitol crimes. So if the goal of a judicial system to is render justice, the American judicial system now fails to do so; it is disfunctional. Furthermore, in an attempt to make criminals pay dearly for their actions, sentencing guidelines compel judges to mete out long sentences. Unfortunately, hardly anyone ever serves them, since our prison facilities is not large enough to house the number of persons convicted, which results in early release. The system is broken; it does not work; it is disfunctional.

2.        The immigration system has been revised a number of times in recent decades; yet the problem of illegal immigration persists. Yet Americans often criticize other nations for not controlling their borders. Our immigration system is disfunctional, worse, it does not function at all.

3.        Americans have been fighting a war on drugs for almost fifty years; yet the flow of illegal drugs into our nation has hardly been stemmed if it has been stemmed at all. This policy is disfunctional; it does not work.

4.        The American health care system deprives many Americans of the basic health coverage one could argue that all human being are entitled to as a human right. Numerous attempts at reforming it have been made; none have worked. The health care system is disfunctional.

5.        Americans are subject to a patchwork of pension systems; yet for most people, this patchwork fails to provide for an adequate retirement, and even the government's system for guaranteeing the integrity of the present system is in disarray. The system is broken; it is disfunctional.

6.        Recent events have shown just how disfunctional FEMA is.

Does one need more evidence? The American government cannot guarantee justice to its citizens; it cannot control our borders; it cannot provide Americans with basic health care; it cannot stem the flow of illegal drugs and, presumably, other contraband; it cannot provide Americans with a reliable pension system or with adequate emergency relief. The federal highway system is in disrepair, and our railroads are an international disgrace. The federal tax system is an undecipherable hodge-podge that undergoes continual revision, and even our electoral system exhibits serious flaws which the government does not seem to be able to address. What more proof does one need? (11/28/2005)