Saturday, September 18, 2010

Elizabeth Warren's First Job: Find a Bureaucrat

Ron Lieber has a piece in the NYTimes offering Ms. Warren suggestions on what she should be doing. It's a list of policy issues, all very worthy of attention I'm sure.  My advice to her, however, is to get herself a bureaucrat. What would the bureaucrat do:
  • determine the administrative relationship between the new agency and the Treasury Department.  Does it have its own budget and administrative personnel, or is it serviced by the Department? Makes a big difference down the road.
  • roughly scope the size of the agency.  How many bodies at what grade levels can be/will be hired over the next 12 months?
  • work on obtaining office space to accommodate the people. 
  • work on setting up telephone system for the people.
  • work on the budget/fiscal arrangements so people can be paid and travel can be done.
  • work on the IT system for the agency.
  • work on the personnel system for the agency--so the people can be hired.

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