The Preamble and Government Efficiency

This episode explores the intricacies of measuring government efficiency through the ideals embedded in the U.S. Constitution's preamble. We discuss the implications of redefining traditional metrics of efficiency, emphasizing the importance of social connections and comprehensive welfare in evaluating public services.

• Examining efficiency as defined by the preamble's objectives
• Importance of metrics that reflect social values
• The value added by social experiences in government services
• Discussing Social Security's implications on various generations
• Financial implications of efficiency versus welfare
• Role of AI in redefining governance metrics
• Call for a holistic approach to measuring government success

Speaker Bio
Dr. David Axelrod received his Ph.D. in Economics from Rutgers University in 1990, with the dissertation Three Essays on Latency in Economics and Decision Making. He has taught at Montclair State University. Previously, he worked in finance for twenty years as an economist, consultant and actuarial analyst, including positions with Falcon Management, Volvo Finance, and Crum & Forster. He has also produced research in health economics, and on the nature of choice and well-being. Dr. Axelrod provides holonomic consultation and workshops. He plays electric bass, and has released over a dozen albums of original music

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:16):
A Preamble to Efficiency.
Almost everyone agrees thatgovernment should operate
efficiently and with littlewaste.
That is the easy part.
What is difficult is aconsensus on the objectives of
government, which are thestandards of production by which
we can measure efficiency andwaste.

(00:38):
In the United States, the basisfor our federal government is
its constitution.
States the basis for ourfederal government is its
Constitution.
Fortunately, it was writtenwith a formal declaration of
those objectives in its preambleQuote we, the people of the
United States, in order to forma more perfect union, establish

(01:02):
justice, ensure domestictranquility, provide for the
common defense, promote thegeneral welfare and secure the
blessings of liberty toourselves and our posterity, do
ordain and establish thisConstitution for the United

(01:23):
States of America.
Unquote this Constitution forthe United States of America"
Union, justice, tranquility,defense, welfare and blessings
of liberty to ourselves and ourposterity, ordained and
established by the people of theUnited States.

(01:49):
Any metrics by which efficiencyis determined must include not
only measures of those sixobjectives but also weight
future consequences as well.
This implies that somethinglike the present value of future
experiences of these goods witha capital G, and not just goods
with a small g, would beincluded in such an objective

(02:14):
function.
Beyond this, we will requiresome commensuration of these six
attributes through thedimensions of time and persons.
These six attributes throughthe dimensions of time and
persons.
Since efficiency is measured byits distance from an ideal,
such as Carnot's engine, the USgovernment efficiency should be

(02:37):
measured relative to the idealsfound in the preamble.
To paraphrase the Declarationof Independence, a decent
respect to the opinions of ourcitizens requires that those
discerning what is inefficientdeclare the measures which impel
them to their determinations.

(02:59):
If we are to benefit from amore business-like approach to
running government, we will wantto be able to understand the
value added by each of thesegoods.
A challenging task.
However, we can see the wayforward through the following
exercise in calculating valueadded when going to see a movie.

(03:28):
Calculating value added whengoing to see a movie.
First, how much would you bewilling to pay to go see a movie
in a theater by yourself?
Second, how much would you payto go see the same movie in the
same theater at the same time,but now with a group of friends?
When I've asked students in myeconomics classes, it was about
a $5 to $10 difference.

(03:49):
Typically $5 to go alone.
$10 to $15 to go with friends.
To go alone $10 to $15 to gowith friends.
The imputed value of the movieitself is only about $5.
The value added of havingfriends to go with was even
greater than that.
The implication is that abusiness-like understanding of

(04:13):
economic measures such as GDP isdependent on accurately
attributing value added based onthe attributes in the preamble.
Consider the implications forthe value added of Social
Security.
One direct aspect is thelongevity and well-being of

(04:35):
those with little to retire on.
Another aspect is that withoutthis bit of a safety net, it
would necessitate being employedlonger.
At first that might seem moreefficient because it
incentivizes more production.
Yet as seniors work longer,there is a greater delay in

(04:58):
young adults developing careers.
As intervening generations waitas well.
That foregone value added ofhuman capital development has
long-term consequences.

(05:19):
Consequences Not only are thereimpacts on welfare.
The increased intergenerationaltensions impact the experiences
of union, justice, tranquilityand the blessings of liberty.
Clearly there are many otherpolicy and practical concerns on
which we could elaborate.
Financial issues such as debtand in particular interest paid

(05:40):
on the debt must be part of theanalysis.
Yet we cannot ignore theessential criteria by which the
Constitution declares is itspurpose.
Otherwise, the government mayspend less, but at a higher cost
to the people.

(06:02):
Anathema to efficiency Relativeto union tranquility and welfare
, improvements in socialrelationships could lead to a
greater GDP due to thevalue-added benefits.
The implication is that theobjective of maximizing
financial profit, somethingoften assumed to be the purpose

(06:26):
for business, is insufficientfor representing the objectives
stated in the preamble.
Given the expanding role of AIin business and government, what
might it have to offer?
Using chat, gpt-4-0 and theprompt suggest a set of metrics

(06:51):
to measure government efficiencybased on the standards in the
preamble of the US Constitutiongovernment efficiency based on
the standards in the preamble ofthe US Constitution.
It responded with the followingquote To measure government
efficiency based on the idealsoutlined in the preamble of the
US Constitution.
We can develop a set of metricsthat align with each of the core

(07:14):
objectives union justice,tranquility, welfare, aspect of
the government's role and themetrics would need to reflect
both the processes and outcomesassociated with achieving them.
Summary of metrics Union socialcohesion index interstate

(07:35):
cooperation Social CohesionIndex Interstate Cooperation
Public Trust, criminal JusticeEfficiency, equality Before the
Law, judicial Impartiality,legal Aid Accessibility, crime
rates, mental health, civicengagement, social unrest index,

(07:58):
poverty rate, healthcare access, education quality, economic
opportunity, defense spendingefficiency.
Cyber security resilience,veteran services, threat

(08:22):
response time.
Liberty freedom index, privacyprotection, freedom of
expression, political rights,generational equity, freedom of
expression, political rights,generational equity, posterity,
environmental sustainability,intergenerational wealth,

(08:45):
education, cultural heritagepreservation.
These metrics, if measuredconsistently over time, would
provide a comprehensive view ofgovernment efficiency in meeting
the broad goals laid out in thepreamble of the US Constitution
.
Unquote.
This is what was recommended byChatGPT-AI.

(09:12):
While we might want to modifysome of these metrics, this does
demonstrate a reasonablestarting point.
Moreover, if we are going toembrace AI to help reduce waste
and improve efficiency, thisshows us an approach that it
might use.

(09:32):
Hopefully, the business leaderswe rely on to improve
government efficiency recognizethe necessity to measure success
relative to the declaredpurposes of the US government,
as stated in our Constitution.
Thank you.