Death, taxes, and red tape. The inevitable trio no one can escape. That wry sense of reality colors Herbert Kaufman's classic study of red tape, the bureaucratic phenomenon that all of us have encountered in some formfrom the confounding tax form filled out annually to the maddeningly time-consuming wait at the driver's license bureau. The complaints about red tape, Kaufman concedes, are legion. It's messy, it takes too long, it lacks local knowledge, it is out of date, it makes insane demands, it increases costs, it slows progress. It is, in short, a burden and many times there is no measurable positive outcome. Kaufman takes us on an unblinking tour of the dismal landscape of red tape. But he also shows us another side of red tape, one we often forget. Red tape is how government protects us from tainted food, shoddy products, and unfair labor practices. It guarantees a social safety net for the elderly, the disabled, children, veterans, and victims of natural disasters. One person's red tape is another person's protection. This reissue is a Brookings Classic, a series of republished books for readers to revisit or discover, notable works by the Brookings Institution Press. Red Tape Its Origins, Uses, and Abuses By Herbert Kaufman Brookings Institution Press Copyright © 2015 The Brookings Institution All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-0-8157-2660-9 Contents Foreword Philip K. Howard, vii, Exordium, xv, ONE Object of Loathing, 1, TWO Of Our Own Making, 25, THREE Rewinding the Spools, 49, Notes, 85, Index, 101, CHAPTER 1 OBJECT OF LOATHING Once in a long while, a voice is raised in defense of red tape. Or at least in explanation of it. These voices are almost never heard. They are drowned in an unceasing chorus of denunciation. Everybody seems to hate red tape. I say "seems to" because the apparent unanimity conceals significant differences. One person's "red tape" may be another's treasured safeguard. The term is applied to a bewildering variety of organizational practices and features. Still, a common set of complaints is embedded in most definitions even though the complaints refer to different specific irritants. When people rail against red tape, they mean that they are subjected to too many constraints, that many of the constraints seem pointless, and that agencies seem to take forever to act. That is, we detest our respective forms of red tape, but for the same reasons. TOO MANY CONSTRAINTS We all hate to be told we have to do something or may not do something. Even if we actually enjoy the compulsory tasks and dislike the forbidden ones, the command rankles. The element of compulsion itself is distasteful. And it is much worse if we are forced to do what we don't want to do, and are prohibited from doing what we strongly want to do. Today, you can hardly turn around without bumping into some federal restraint or requirement. It wasn't always so; there was a time you could embark on almost any venture without encountering a single federal constraint. Now, however, if you should take it into your head, say, to manufacture and market a new product, you would probably run into statutes and administrative regulations on labor relations, occupational safety, product safety, and air purity. Your advertising would probably fall within the jurisdiction of the Federal Trade Commission. The Department of Justice would be interested in your relations with your competitors. Should you want to raise capital by the sale of stock or bonds, you would fall under the Securities and Exchange Commission. You would need export licenses from the Department of Commerce to sell your product in some areas of the world. Federal prohibitions against race, age, and sex discrimination in hiring and promotion would apply to you. If you were to extend credit to your customers, you might fall under truth-in-lending laws. You would have to file sundry reports for tax, social security, pension, and census purposes. In some fields—communication, transportation, energy, insurance, and banking, for instance—restrictions and oversight are especially stringent. But firms of all kinds, large and small, are subject to diverse federal requirements. You can't just start and run a business without reference to federal specifications and officials. Business is not the only activity affected this way. Labor unions, foundations, political parties, universities, lobbyists, and even farmers are similarly constrained. Every recipient of government subsidies, loans, and other forms of public assistance finds these benefits come with conditions and obligations that have to be satisfied. The government's reach is very long. The sheer mass of binding official promulgations and interventions in the marketplace begins to be oppressive. The number seems to increase steadily. The media revel in embarrassing exposés. Although it is possible that this impression is engendered partly by the irritations of corresponding ac