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The American right has long warned of the dangers of a federal government that has grown too large and intrusive. The left has presented the opposite view, arguing that a government with more resources can better aid its citizens.
Today, a new movement has identified a different problem with government in America. The issue for these reformers is not that the public sector is too big or too small, but that it increasingly lacks what is known as "state capacity."
State capacity is best understood as the ability of the government to accomplish its goals efficiently. Thus far, state-capacity reformers have focused on removing the burdensome procedures government has placed on its own operations, from extensive public-outreach requirements to excessive lawsuit opportunities. Such reforms are necessary. And yet, due to the democratic nature of our system and its separation of powers, some amount of procedure is inevitable, even desirable. Thus, improving state capacity in America cannot involve simply minimizing procedure.
Continue reading the entire piece at National Affairs
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Judge Glock is the director of research and a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a contributing editor at City Journal.