The Essence of the Modern Government
Modern governance and the essence of modern government has grown to become one of the most complex fields. Understanding what needs to be done, when and by who has grown out to be one of the most startling tasks, especially with the current governance practices. Kettl’s book introduces the cases of government failure in the various instances that it has failed and the legal proceedings that follow each of the many occurrences. The case that draws more attention is Flint’s water crisis case. This is a case that went for a very long period without getting solved. A bidding solution to the challenge is all the people needed, but the opposite was received. The case concerns a change of the city’s water supplier in an attempt to reduce the costs of this basic commodity to the taxpayers by the governor. This, however, turns out to make things different from the people in question. The water supply has issues all over the time concerning lead poisoning. At first, the people experience a change in the taste of the water, the colour and the smell. The water causes a lot of complications to the people, including the outbreak of infections that claim the lives of many people. Even General Motors decide to change the water supplier after realizing that the water is corrosive and has very harmful effects on the engines of the motors (Flint water crisis fast facts, 2019). This event happens in an attempt to reduce the cost of the bills by the governor. The state’s governance and all the authorities have, therefore, to comply with this and all the rightful procedures are taken. The government is fully involved in the implementation of this law and the change in the whole. However, the government fails when the leaders in question receive several claims of the effects of the change and do nothing about it. Although the state shows dedication and steps to fight with this challenge, a lot of systems fail in the process. This includes the justice systems that fail on delivering justice to the people that file their petitions on the issue. This is an issue that has received multiple complaints, and we see some people severally getting back to the systems in the pursuit of justice. The legislative arms also fail a great deal, with the health and the scientific departments not being left out. This is even more evident when the case turns out to involve almost every member of the current and the previous administration. The federal government is also dragged into this through the slow response to an issue that deserves a very swift challenge. The results of the delay in responding resulted in more harm to the people. First of all, when Obama’s government decides to swim into action, the initially requested amount is $55 million. However, the government only approves and disburses $5 million, which delays the processes even further. This is evidence of total failure on all sides of governance (Flint water crisis fast facts, 2019).
Kettl refers to Flint’s disasters as the essence of modern government for several reasons. In the book, Kettl expresses the roles of the modern government and the main themes inherent in the cases that he presents in the book. Focusing on Flint’s case, it goes without being told that the role of the government in averting all these challenges could be practised from the onset. However, the question of what needs to be done and by when it should be done creates a conflict of interest. The government has just brought changes in place, shifting the source of the city’s water and trying to work on the entire system. The primary goal of this is to save the taxpayers’ money by cutting on the costs that they incur in some of these bills. However, the case is so different in the field. The water turns out to be poisonous. The government is alerted on this, and all the people made aware of it. The governor of the state, however, defies all odds and is seen drinking the same tapped water to encourage the people to consume it. The government has the role of implementing policies that are going to change the lives of the people. That is the reason as to why it is always referred to as service to the people. The failure by the government to deliver in this case creates a total change in Snyder’s political career (Kettl, 2018). Many critics have termed this as his Katerina, which refers to a giant storm that had hit the nation. It is the role of the government to deliver to the people. Service to the people means meeting all the basic needs of the people when most needed and helping them achieve the primary objectives of life. However, the influence of the government, in this case, fails on delivering (Kettl, 2018). The expected performance of the government, in this case, is not experienced. As a result of the lack of some of these basics in the realization of the role of a government, the people end up with permanent health effects. Kettl’s book refers to this case as the essence of governance since the government had total power to transform the situation, but nothing is done until it is too late.
The administrative failure happens in this case due to the conflict in interest. Politics is the entire controller of the public administration sector. As a result, many decisions are made with political influence in action. The first of these decisions is the decision to change the water supplier. This is the first failure. Since the original supplier is expensive, the governor comes up with a solution that is going to bring a lasting cost reduction (Flint water crisis fast facts, 2019). Within no time, it is realized that the water is unsafe for human consumption as the water corrodes pipes leaching iron and lead into the water. It was upon the administration to take any action to bring this to an end. Many more cases are reported, but still, the same supplier is retained with the attempt to fulfil the political promises that Snyder has given to the people.
The politics-administration dichotomy is directly evident in this case. The governor fails to change the supplier, even with many complaints from the masses. Instead of changing the supplier, the governor and the suppliers plan a way to convince the people that the water is safe (Flint water crisis fast facts, 2019). This proves that the governor is so concerned with keeping his promises but forgets the importance of the recipients of the services. Hos political ambition alters everything that he does, and that happens in the state. The administrators are in place just to implement passed laws, and this costs the government a lot. The many cases filed against the government and those that need payment are very many. The government is deemed to incur a huge loss in the attempt to cover for all these cases.
References
Flint water crisis fast facts, (2019). CNN news. Retrieved from https://edition.cnn.com/2016/03/04/us/flint-water-crisis-fast-facts/index.html
Kettl, D.F. (2018) The job of government: Politics of the Administrative Process. C.Q. Press 7th Edition. Pp 1-70