Title: Reducing Wasteful Federal Spending | Cato Institute
Headings: Reducing Wasteful Federal Spending
Reducing Wasteful Federal Spending
The Need to Cut Spending
Causes of Waste in Federal Spending
Aid to the States Is Particularly Inefficient
Conclusions
About the Author
Chris Edwards

Content: Research has found that American businesses have become leaner in recent decades, with flatter managements. 15 By contrast, the number of layers of federal management has greatly increased. Paul Light of the Brookings Institution found that the number of layers, or ranks by title, in the typical federal agency has jumped from 7 to 18 since the 1960s. 16 Light argues that today’s “over‐​layered chain of command” in the government is a major cause of failure. 17 Overlaying stifles information flow and makes it harder to hold anyone accountable for failures. Political Appointees. At the top of the executive branch is a layer of about 3,000 full‐​time political appointees. 18 Political leadership of federal agencies has some benefits, but it also contributes to failure. Administrations come into office eager to launch new initiatives, but they are less interested in managing what is already there. Political appointees may think that they know all the answers, and so they repeat past mistakes.