Tyler Cowen: commitment

Transcript context

…Thanks for having me, Tyler. Now, we will get to the AstraZeneca vaccine, but first, let me ask about a few other topics. The Pendleton Civil Service Act of 1883 — the goal was to replace hires by patronage with hires by merit. How should we be changing that act today? Oh, good question. I think I would begin by saying that I’m not sure we need examinations, which, by the way, still exist in many areas of the civil service. That we should have, perhaps, minimum criteria, but the criteria should not be reduced to, say, a four-year college degree. I do believe that the Pendleton Act created the basis for the decline of patronage, and it took a while. The Pendleton Act depended heavily upon presidential enforcement. It was actually Theodore Roosevelt, more than two decades after the act, who really implemented the pivotal administrative decisions there. I would say if we were trying to do this today, I would actually reduce the number of political appointees at the top levels of the civil service. It’s actually relevant to some recent politics regarding the FDA. Surely, the leaders of an administrative agency, executive branch, or so-called independent commission, are appointed by the president. That’s an Article II power. They should continue to be appointed by the president. It’s all of the other folks — communications, undersecretaries, and so forth — that I’m not sure about the added value of those appointments. I think we would do better by restricting their number.…

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