Donald Trump is not the first president to launch a project to attempt government reform. These efforts have reoccurred since the Keep Commission in 1905. Trump, however, is the first whose project, DOGE, left the government in much worse shape. This study group will examine some chronic problems of government performance such as wasteful spending and inefficiency, and the consequent efforts to meet these performance challenges. We’ll also confront the possibility that these issues may not originate with the bureaucracy, but that, as Pogo said, "We have met the enemy and he is us." We’ll also examine innovative alternative approaches, sometimes called "tools of government," to achieving policy goals. Mark Nadel was a political science professor at Cornell University and ended his academic career as a professor at Georgetown’s public policy school. In between those two academic stints he took a 20-year detour at GAO dealing with government performance issues and then at the Social Security Administration as an Associate Commissioner. He has long been an active member of OLLI, and has led study groups on politics and public policy.
Mark NadelGuestPaul VanvisHost