“The challenges facing governments call for comprehensive and profound change,” Jonathan D. Breul , a senior fellow at the IBM Center, writes in the report. He adds, “Those that play a waiting game, postponing these changes, will find their fiscal strength and programmatic effectiveness eroding.”

The Washington Post reports on the report, which details six ways to make government better. I’ll bet dollars to donuts that “reducing size & scope” is not among the suggestions.

Among the recommendations are making a “market-based government” which, surprise, although suggested by GWB has achieved limited success. This might be due to the irrepressible fact that government is basically the negation of market forces – it can always circumvent the workings of the market, and thus any attempt to play by the rules of the market is destined for failure at the first onset of real competition.

It would also have the government “perform on demand,” as though it is capable of making such decisions in the absence of true market forces. There is a significant amount of government that citizens neither demand, or are aware of – they merely lack the incentives or power to affect any change. My unwillingness to excercise “demand” for social security does not, in any manner, exempt me from it, or cause the government to be more sensitive to my needs.

Better government?

Not likely.