It’s a culture problem throughout fedgov, not so much a funding problem. The DoD is also a huge mess, despite having plenty (most people would argue too much) f

It’s a culture problem throughout fedgov, not so much a funding problem. The DoD is also a huge mess, despite having plenty (most people would argue too much) funding. Take a look at something like the Afghanistan papers. Decision-making at every level and internal politics impacting competency are massive problems. Changing Presidents can’t fix this, because it’s a slow-motion problem going on for decades, and Presidents actually have very little power over what actually goes on in these agencies internally - that’s what the contemporary complaints about the so-called “deep state” are about: most agencies are in practice virtually independent from the White House, and will simply sandbag or defy any direction from the White House or appointees they aren’t interested in following. These people are experts in exploiting bureaucracy to achieve their aims, which are dominated by personal politics and career advancement. I used to say exactly what you’re saying, but now having seen how it all works firsthand, I am afraid the problem is intractable without major Congressional overhaul of the entire executive branch, including mass layoffs to get out the problems, before we increase funding to any agency. And I don’t think Congress is ever going to do this. Additionally, at least according to Forbes, the CDC employs more people now than ever, having increased headcount by 25% since 2007, when it was already at an all-time high. (The article also complains about comp, but I personally don’t think it’s too high.) https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamandrzejewski/2020/02/29/10600-cdc-employees-earn-11-billion-annually/#3af694c24da3 https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamandrzejewski/2020/02/29/106...