The Pendleton Act has produced several consequences. On the other hand, it has lessened the fear of job loss, making the bureaucracy inert to presidential direction. It takes two years on average to fire an incompetent or insubordinate civil servant. On the other hand, bureaucrats should have some immunity to resist improper orders from politically motivated superiors. How can these twin goals of competence and political neutrality be balanced better than they are currently?
Clear job descriptions and objective evaluations of employees would help this situation.
What do you think?