They are also often written by young consultants who don't really care about the topic at hand. I have often seen reports to congress be handed down 5+ layers

They are also often written by young consultants who don't really care about the topic at hand. I have often seen reports to congress be handed down 5+ layers of management to a 22 year old in the middle of a huge time crunch who basically says whatever seems reasonable to them and then everyone above them signs off on it at most skimming over what's said and then passing it on. One example that comes to mind was someone who asked their boss a basic policy question which then traveled though 8 hops before someone asked them their own question. (up 4 over 1 down 3 then back to them) You could see their email address on the top and bottom of this long chain. He almost sent it back up just to see what would happen.