Bureaucratic Barriers

In this week’s reading, I found the article, Innovating the White House most thought-provoking. The article aims to highlight principles the president should pursue in attempt to remove bureaucratic barriers to social innovation. In the last principle mentioned in the article, the author suggests removing “outdated tax and regulatory barriers to innovation.” I found the insight of this article to be particularly profound and stimulating.  

This week’s theme and this particular reading lead to my contemplation of the issue of homelessness in my hometown: the city of San Jose, CA. San Jose has the fifth largest homeless population in the nation. The intensity and scope of this issue in terms of numbers, suffering of the homeless, and public health and safety requires that the issue is addressed immediately. The status quo of nearby cities, such as San Francisco and San Diego, and San Jose in tackling homelessness tends to be social groups and the city working together in providing relief.

Providing housing to the homeless is the obvious solution to this problem, but this process of solving homelessness is too gradual. Over the span of 11 years, the 2016 Annual Homeless Assessment Report confirms that there have always been more than 4,000 homeless individuals on the streets. Residential programs that cities usually prioritize are time-consuming, the homeless population continues to suffer, and the public remains endangered. The status quo for homelessness is unchanged; the same goes for a change in other areas of social need, such as education, healthcare, and environment.

The constant need socio-economic change in everyday American communities is one of the main driving forces in the establishing of state. The expectation and hope for the government’s endeavor to provide socially, especially in return of the taxes citizens duly pay, is unmet. Moreover, society has gradually begun to look towards nonprofits or social innovation groups in hope for light.

Social innovation groups are helping to bridge the gap between the privileged and underprivileged and aim to tackle basic human needs— that the government is often expected to provide. However, hundreds of social innovation groups are established each year; only a very small number of those are able to become sustainable. Even if a social innovation group expands, they are found to be highly underfunded, which often leads to the group being forced to shut down. The inability to scale up its operations takes away from the benefits of the group and their inability to reach further than their local settings.

Where is the line drawn between what a citizen or individual should expect from their sovereign state versus a nonprofit organization or social innovation group?