OPINION: Government is big and complex for a reason

America is a big, complicated country. It’s not surprising that we have a big, complicated system of government. But the combination of size and complexity can create challenges. It inevitably leads to conflict, as the branches of government compete for power. And it often leaves citizens feeling frustrated and distrustful. Government can seem distant and impersonal, its actions arbitrary. Most often, the major actors in this drama are, one, the executive branch, and two, the legislative branch. The president and the Congress have distinct powers that are enumerated in the U.S. Constitution. Often those powers clash, producing confusion and even gridlock. The judiciary, the third branch of government, is also a player. The courts can decide whether presidential actions and laws passed by Congress comply with the Constitution. But those decisions typically come after the fact, not as part of day-to-day governing. There’s arguably a fourth branch of government, and that’s the bureaucracy. Federal employees often get a bad rap, and I believe that’s not fair. We have talented and dedicated people working in all areas of government. They do work that is essential, even when it’s routine. But critics have a point when they complain that the bureaucracy lacks accountability. Much of the way that citizens interface with government is in the form of rules and regulations, and the people who write and enforce the rules can seem insulated from public oversight. It’s also true that the bureaucracy is quite large, although that’s not a new situation. The federal workforce, currently a little over 2 million people, is slightly smaller than 50 years ago, even though the U.S. population has grown by two-thirds. President Donald Trump and his adviser Elon Musk have eliminated tens of thousands of government jobs, but many cuts have come from shutting down agencies like the U.S. Agency for International Development and Voice of America, and some are tied up in court. Even if Trump and Musk get what they want, the bureaucracy will remain vast. Finally, we have a system of federalism in which the 50 states exercise considerable authority, adding hugely to the complexity. The Supremacy Clause of the Constitution declares that federal laws are the “supreme law of the land,” superior to state and local laws. At the same time, the 10th Amendment says that all powers “not delegated to the United States,” such as power over health and education, are reserved for the states. States guard these powers jealously. And within each state, there’s a tug-of-war between state and local governments and frequent debates about local control. When citizens don’t understand what the government is doing, they tend not to trust it; and lack of trust has become a big problem. Fewer than 20 percent of Americans trust the government to do the right thing, according to the Pew Research Center. That makes it harder for elected officials and bureaucrats to do their jobs. At the federal level, our system can’t work well if there’s a lack of cooperation between the branches of government. How do we get cooperation? It’s typically up to the president to make it happen. There’s no doubt the president is the strongest actor. With congressional authority spread among 100 senators and 435 House members, there’s no contest. Only the president can whip the parties into acting in concert. Of course, presidents sometimes overreach. One could argue that’s happening now with President Donald Trump’s onslaught of executive orders and rejection of court decisions. If presidents go too far, it’s up to Congress and the courts to rein them in. The size and complexity of government creates challenges, but it shouldn’t keep government from being effective. The branches should cooperate and coordinate when they can, and they should check each other’s power when appropriate. That part of the complexity is what the founders intended and what we should expect as citizens.       

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Lee Hamilton, 94, is a senior advisor for the Indiana University (IU) Center on Representative Government, distinguished scholar at the IU Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies, and professor of practice at the IU O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Hamilton, a Democrat, was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for 34 years (1965-1999), representing a district in south-central Indiana.