Escape from Quicksand: A New Framework for Modernizing America

In a report published by Manhattan Institute, Philip Howard argues that Washington needs to abandon the bureaucratic compliance model, and replace it with a simpler framework that empowers designated officials to make tradeoff judgments to modernize infrastructure and achieve public results.

Governing structures created after the 1960s are designed to fail because they presume legal rules and processes can validate correct choices. But law can't think. The proper role of law is to provide a framework that delineates the authority to make that decision, and provides public transparency and oversight.

Essays & ReportsAndrew ParkFebruary 6, 2025Philip K. Howard, DOGE, Manhattan Institute

How to Fix It with John Avlon: DOGE Is Doing it Wrong

Philip Howard sits down with John Avlon to talk DOGE and government reform: Elon wants to cut government programs, but that won’t make government more efficient. But changing how the government does things—by streamlining the permitting and purchasing processes, for example—will make government more effective, efficient, and responsive to the public.

AppearancesAndrew ParkJanuary 27, 2025DOGE

Francis Fukuyama: Hold On, Elon and Vivek: Firing Federal Bureaucrats Isn’t the Solution

Federal agencies need more discretion, not less. Many of the rules they follow are not statutory, and one useful function that DOGE could perform is to identify and eliminate the most outdated and inefficient of them. As Philip Howard, the author of many books on simplifying government and founder of the nonpartisan group Common Good, has pointed out over the years, bureaucrats need more freedom to use their own good judgment regarding the implementation of policy, rather than being forced to follow rules.