Who Should Run Government? Bureaucrats vs. Innovators?
By Rand Miller | February 20, 2025
Benefits of Removing Ethics Restrictions
We need business-minded leaders in government, not lifelong bureaucrats. Entrepreneurs cut waste, innovate, and get results, while career government workers grow agencies, increase spending, and protect their jobs. America's success comes from private-sector ingenuity, not government expansion.
Strict ethics rules block top talent—successful people won’t leave profitable businesses if they’re banned from returning. This leaves us with institutional thinkers who love red tape, not efficiency. Our founding fathers didn’t want career politicians or lifelong government employees. If we want lower taxes, less debt, and smarter spending, we need risk-takers and innovators, not bureaucrats protecting their pensions.
1. Government Attracts the Wrong Type of People
Bureaucracies are filled with career government workers who do not take risks, avoid innovation, and focus on process over results...
2. Government Becomes a Self-Sustaining Bureaucracy
When only government and education-minded people fill government positions, they think in terms of expanding bureaucracy rather than eliminating waste...
3. Restrictions Discourage Successful Private-Sector Leaders from Joining Government
Most government jobs are filled by people with backgrounds in government, academia, or institutional work, not innovators, entrepreneurs, or problem-solvers...
4. Institutional Thinkers Don’t Solve Problems, They Perpetuate Them
Bureaucrats focus on maintaining their jobs, not solving problems...
5. The Solution: Attract People Who Know How to Cut Costs & Innovate
Eliminate post-employment restrictions so business leaders can serve in government without fear of career damage...
6. Removing Ethics Restrictions Benefits the People, Not Just Politicians
More efficiency = Lower taxes, smaller government, and less waste...
If government agencies were led by people with real-world business experience, rather than lifelong bureaucrats, efficiency would improve, waste would decrease, and the taxpayer burden would be reduced. Here’s how key departments would benefit:
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
Current Problem: Bureaucratic inefficiency, rising healthcare costs, and wasteful spending.
How Business Leaders Would Help:
Implement cost-cutting strategies from private healthcare.
Negotiate better drug prices and eliminate middlemen.
Reduce fraud in Medicare and Medicaid using private-sector fraud detection methods.
Example: A former hospital CEO could reduce unnecessary spending by applying private healthcare efficiency models.
Department of Education
Current Problem: Overspending, poor academic performance, and administrative bloat.
How Business Leaders Would Help:
Cut unnecessary federal programs and redirect money directly to classrooms.
Increase school choice and competition, forcing schools to improve.
Remove ineffective regulations that slow down innovation.
Example: A former tech entrepreneur could introduce online education and reduce costs. A private school executive could fix failing public schools by adopting best practices.
Department of Defense (Pentagon)
Current Problem: Massive overspending, procurement delays, and inefficient military contracts.
How Business Leaders Would Help:
Reduce wasteful military contracts and negotiate better deals.
Increase accountability for defense contractors.
Improve logistics and supply chain efficiency.
Example: A former logistics CEO could optimize supply chains, ensuring faster, cheaper equipment delivery. A former manufacturing executive could cut unnecessary production costs in defense contracts.
Department of Energy
Current Problem: Inefficient renewable energy subsidies, slow technological advancements.
How Business Leaders Would Help:
Shift to private-sector innovation, reducing government dependency.
Promote energy independence by cutting regulatory roadblocks.
Invest in cost-effective clean energy instead of politically motivated projects.
Example: A former energy company CEO could streamline regulations and reduce energy prices.
IRS (Internal Revenue Service)
Current Problem: Complex tax code, slow audits, and bureaucratic inefficiency.
How Business Leaders Would Help:
Simplify tax collection using private-sector automation.
Cut unnecessary audits and improve efficiency.
Reduce taxpayer frustration by making filing easier.
Example: A former fintech executive could modernize IRS technology, reducing paperwork and increasing automation.
Department of Transportation
Current Problem: Slow infrastructure projects, cost overruns, and bureaucratic delays.
How Business Leaders Would Help:
Privatize certain infrastructure projects, reducing taxpayer burden.
Use data-driven traffic management to cut congestion.
Cut waste in government-funded construction projects.
Example: A former transportation CEO could speed up infrastructure repairs by reducing government red tape.
Department of Commerce
Current Problem: Overregulation, slow economic growth, and job-killing policies.
How Business Leaders Would Help:
Reduce overbearing regulations that hurt small businesses.
Increase pro-business policies to boost job creation.
Streamline trade negotiations to protect American businesses.
Example: A former manufacturing executive could cut red tape and boost domestic production.
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
Current Problem: High homelessness, inefficient public housing programs.
How Business Leaders Would Help:
Cut ineffective housing projects and focus on real solutions.
Promote private-sector housing innovation.
Increase public-private partnerships for affordable housing.
Example: A real estate investor could fix HUD by making public housing more sustainable.
Social Security Administration
Current Problem: Long processing times, fraud, and financial instability.
How Business Leaders Would Help:
Modernize payments with digital automation.
Reduce fraud and inefficiencies.
Increase investment strategies to sustain the program.
Example: A former investment firm CEO could apply better financial models to protect Social Security funds.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Current Problem: Overregulation, bureaucratic delays, and ineffective policies.
How Business Leaders Would Help:
Focus on results-based environmental policies instead of bureaucratic rules.
Streamline permitting processes for businesses.
Promote market-driven environmental solutions.
Example: A former clean energy CEO could balance economic growth with environmental protection.
Why Business Leaders Are the Solution
Government agencies are too big, too slow, and too inefficient.
Business leaders know how to cut waste, increase efficiency, and improve services.
If we remove barriers that prevent successful people from joining government, we can fix spending, improve performance, and eliminate bureaucracy.