The speed of government (and other institutions) is a feature not a bug

Recently a few ideas came together for me that made me want to acknowledge something that might be obvious to others. It isn’t directly related to the Election but it offers a timeliness.

At their best, institutions, and governments specifically, move slowly by design. Like the plan for charter schools influencing school districts, the very hope for startups and other young organizations is to be a place for risk and experimentation.

By merger or sheer influence, the best of these ideas should survive their way through bureaucracy and other obstacles. Others won’t survive. Though that has worked for so long in much of American political life, we were just reminded of how vulnerable that still is. But that isn’t the real goal.

This is no excuse for resisting trying to make big institutions more efficient. That remains a noble goal. Just know that the goal isn’t to make them move quick like young, nimble companies (they’re different in their aims), simply to be better at what they are. And that has wonderful, reassuring outcomes.

Remember when dealing with big organizations, most notably government, that slow movement is a feature, not a bug.

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