I read this article in today’s Washington Post and found it remarkable for a couple of reasons. One is that it was written by the head of Brookings, a liberal think tank, and two it provides an economic argument to support the current push for resilience and “whole of community” efforts by the White House, FEMA, and other federal agencies.
See: How Washington made itself irrelevant. The intro paragraphs are as follows:
Now that the midterms are behind us, let’s have an honest assessment of what’s really happening in our nation’s capital: The federal government’s power is diminishing. Washington is becoming less effective at addressing many of our nation’s problems and less consequential in bolstering the cities and regions that drive the economy.
Given the excessive partisanship on display, it’s tempting to blame Washington’s stumbling solely on ideological polarization. But that’s not the case. The source of the federal government’s feebleness is structural, and until its run-down foundations are addressed, Washington’s influence around the country will continue to wane.
In the past, Washington has been in the business of investing at scale in the assets that drive the economy, including education, infrastructure and research and development. No longer. Instead, we now have a shrunken pool of resources for investments, a piecemeal approach to delivering funding and few mechanisms that tie the capital to the rest of the country.
Recovery Diva 
Thanks for posting the article, Diva. It certainly seems that not only has government (particularly at the Federal level) not kept up with the times, they have made changes which were completely unnecessary and have become a burden bureaucratically and financially.
It’s obvious that fixes need to be identified and implemented, but the bureaucracy has instituted so many barriers to progress it’s nearly impossible for our government to be agile and responsive, much less responsible.
From Bill Cumming:
Yes, Washington appears dysfunctional! But it is not dysfunctional IMO. Why? A corrupt Congress, Executive Branch, and even Judiciary is now all about self-dealing and greed. Service to the people rarely if ever interferes. Members of Congress, appointees, and elected officials largely devote their time and energy to their next job and/or making more money through corruption.
Corruption can be reduced or even eliminated IMO! HOW!
1. Strict enforcement of the Dual Compensation Act of 1947 which prohibits anyone who receives a federal salary from receiving earned income from any other source;
2. Make all Inspector General positions.subject to one [1] 10 year term of service;
3. Create a General Counsel statute like the CIO and CFO statutes.
4. Reduction of all non-career positions in the SES to a 1000 limit Executive Branch wide;
5. Eliminate the Veterans Preference for those receiving a military pension unless disabled in combat.
CORRUPTION NOT DYSFUNCTION!