[kstrauser]

I about spit my coffee when I saw that. Good grief.

> We've been conditioned to accept that mediocre in government is normal.

Yes, I do now accept that mediocre [sic] in government is normal for the next few years.

[nebula8804]

An entire generation has grown up post Nixon and hasn't known government that worked so yes...could you blame them?

Furthermore only ~50% of the country has a passport so many haven't even seen how things run elsewhere.

[kulahan]

Are you under the impression this is somehow different from the last few years?

[kstrauser]

Of course. Whatever problems the US government had before, mass firings, loyalty tests, furloughs, and endless other shenanigans have only exacerbated them.

[exceptione]

Are you American? Do you think this is normal? Just curious (non American).

[kulahan]

There is a somewhat stubborn idea that a government will always have many inefficiencies baked in, since there’s no real incentive to remove them beyond a generic “that would be nice”.

[jimbokun]

Mediocre is probably the ceiling.