I don’t know, sweetheart…I just don’t know.

By Matt Miner

Andy Grove (who used to run my firm when our stock price ran like a scalded dog) wrote an op-ed in today’s WSJ on the importance of strategic thinking.  He argues that as the concept of strategy was co-opted by business from the military, government needs to co-opt the concept of strategy from business.  He cites examples of the need for strategic thinking from government on the implications of the use of oil as our energy source; the implications of a global labor market for domestic wages (and prices, though he omits this note); the need for a plan as to how to ration increasingly resource-intensive healthcare (this is needful because price-rationing is not working due to a third-party payment system and a government third-party payments system).  In the case of healthcare, we are left to decide between the other ways to ration things: through a lottery, waiting in line, or by who you know.

I’m inclined to agree with Mr. Grove that these issues need strategic thinking.  I also agree that government is not stepping up to the challenge.  I tend to think that successful government action on these issues may be impossible.  Elected officials generally cannot discipline themselves to make strategic decisions, because they’re  essentially short-timers, nor do they think they can generate the political support to take action which is painful in the short term but beneficial in the long term.  Career bureaucrats are present for long enough to make strategic decisions and see them through to implementation, but these bureaucrats may not have the power or the will for such projects.

What could be the answer?