Yes, the bureaucracy in Washington is a clogged-up tangle. That’s why two-thirds of Americans think it needs a major overhaul.

But slashing away at Washington’s many stupidities won’t fix much — like trying to prune a jungle.   The way to drain the swamp is to pull the plug on its flawed operating philosophy — the post-1960s red tape compliance model.  Americans are swimming in red tape.  Is your paperwork in order?

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.

The litmus test for a good school is its culture—its caring, energy, mutual trust, and commitment to a common mission. Good cultures require teachers to feel ownership of the classroom and principals to enforce standards and values, while red tape and entitlements undermine the authority and human spirit that are essential. Fixing K–12 education requires stripping away bureaucratic and union controls and empowering educators to build good school cultures.