Who is Government?

 Michael Lewis has become a favorite author.  He likes to take a complicated story and start with what his readers might assume is irrelevant.  Then he shifts to another apparently irrelevant story and eventually connects them all.  He also points out unexpected consequences.   Life is complicated, but underneath it all, we are all connected and Lewis is a master of reminding us.

"Who is Government?" (2025) is another example.  He has contacted a number of writers he admires and asked them to tell stories demonstrating contributions made by government employees that are not much noted by the general public.  Voters see government as faceless and more of a problem than having much relevance to them.

Too many of us take the government for granted.  Some assume employees are lazy and not able to get a real job.  Still others feel they are "the problem."  But Michael Lewis points out they are human and do in fact make life better for all of us.  In an earlier book he described how the Trump administration did not understand the important role played by government.  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2019/01/the-fifth-risk-latest-from-michael-lewis.html   A key point is that after his 2016 victory, the Trump administration dismissed and discarded work that had been done to explain how the American government was set up so they could more easily make the countless decisions that had to be made.

The examples given in this book are American, but bear a resemblance to other countries.  The government is responsible for the well being of all citizens.

One chapter was devoted to the National Cemetery Administration that was set up by Abraham Lincoln concerned about all the soldiers that had died in the Civil War and most likely forgotten.  Since then  government employees have set up a system so no one has to be forgotten.  Lots of details overlooked by the public.  There are a few covered in the book.

Another chapter is devoted to measuring national finances, specifically a Consumer Price Index.  The arrival of a number is very complicated and potentially misleading, but necessary to have some measure of what the economy is doing.  Prices vary depending on location.  The items chosen for the calculations are not necessarily used everyday or by everybody.  They are broken down in different categories, but the main one publicized is subject to public criticism and is supposed to indicate the rate of inflation.  Some people are able to downscale their expenditures in response.  

A story to demonstrate how measuring the wrong thing can have a negative effect.  Going back to wartime it was noted how many bullet holes were in planes returning from battle.  Initially it was thought necessary to reinforce the wings and fuselage as that is where most of the bullet holes were found.  Someone realized it was more important to realize that although there were apparently no bullet holes found by the engine, that indicated the bullet holes that made it to that part of the plane were the fatal ones and the engine area had a greater need for reinforcement.

The Internal Revenue Services is often criticized for harassing hard working people.  One might recall that police forces were not able to imprison the gangster, Al Capone, but he was taken out by income tax evasion.  Of course modern day crooks are aware of that and try to stymie any efforts to prove their guilt.  A modern day concern is crypto currency which for some people is one way of avoiding the law.   In 2014 it was ruled that profits from crypto transactions would be considered as capital gains and taxed as such.  Undercover work investigating gangsters revealed that terrorists, drug dealers and sex traffickers were hiding behind crypto, but were dealt with the legal and prison systems.

The National Archives are accessible to the public (except confidential ones), but has to have been updated and made more accessible.  A lot of documents are very old and modern users would find cursive writing almost impossible to read.  They have used volunteers to digitize while still making the original documents available  The 2022 election was the first where Maine and Vermont were splitting their electoral votes.  To make the records more accessible  they work with Wikipedia, Family Search and Ancestry among other outside sources.

You might remember Trump literally took a lot of records including some that were classified as confidential that have been mostly retrieved, but the case was never settled.  Records are important and must be cared for.

W. Kamau Bell wrote the chapter on anti trust legislation.  Resented by some, but in fact their decisions affect everyone.  Corporations that get too large reduce competition and innovation as well increasing prices.   An illuminating example occurs after the assassination of President James Garfield in 1881 by a man upset unable to get a job with the government.  The realization led to a revamping of hiring practices from essentially the spoils system to one more based on merit.  see a blog inspired by W. Kamau Bell.   http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2021/05/should-we-defund-police-what-does-that.html

An excellent quote comes from one of W. Kamau Bells' sources,  Oliva Rynberg-Going;  "I think the American dream shouldn't impede on other people's dream."

Michael Lewis handles the last chapter that deals  with the Food and Drug Administration department, but it does so in a round about way.   The connecting focus was on a very rare disease.  A disease that would not be of interest to large pharmaceutical corporate laboratories.  But the disease reached the attention of a government employee who was interested and was able to use her resources to fix the fatal disease that also helped save a marriage.  The study of such rare diseases seems wasteful to some, however it was pointed out that American soldiers are sometimes stationed in tropical areas where such rare diseases are more apt to occur.  Besides the information gained from rare diseases research can lead to good well from countries who cannot afford such research.   

Generally government jobs, especially entry level jobs pay less than for profit business and naturally a lot of graduates go for the big money.  That is not 100% true as there are graduates who have other motives, such as wanting to be of service.  An increasing concern is student loans which can be a burden that forces many to change their course.  The government needs talented people and perhaps this debt load might present an opportunity.  The military will give free education in return for a commitment.  Another angle might deal with loan forgiveness or tax rebates.  The Biden government ran into resistance for their plans for debt forgiveness, but at some point the general public (that is voters) need to realize they are losing when the government cannot attract motivated top graduates.      

 Unfortunately politics (really, big business) forces society in certain directions.  Part of the population realizes big business is only interested in money and not humanity.  Hopefully "Who Is Government?" will make more people realize the importance of government and the need to attract competent people.  First we have to rid of Trump and his supporters.

Two other blogs covering books of Michael Lewis that you might find relevant

http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2021/11/the-premonition-is-more-relevant-than.html

http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2011/12/boomerang-by-michael-lewis.html