Incompetence isn't the biggest threat in government. It's the deliberate use of time as a weapon against citizens.
When I ran massive logistics operations, we lived and died by cycle time. A delay wasn't just an inconvenience—it was a measurable cost. It impacted real people's lives.
In government, delay has become something much more sinister: a strategy.
The Weaponization of Wait Times
Here's an ugly truth about American governance in 2025: Many government agencies aren't failing despite the delays. They're succeeding because of them.
Delay is the point. Frustration is the goal. The wait is the weapon.
Consider these realities:
- •Veterans waiting 100+ days for disability claims
- •Immigration cases backlogged for 4+ years
- •FOIA requests that take 18+ months to process
- •Small business permits stuck in multi-year review cycles
- •Tax refunds held for mysterious "further review"
These aren't just inefficiencies. They're features of systems designed to make citizens give up.
Why Delay Works as Policy
Government agencies have discovered a dark truth: If you make a process slow enough, many people will abandon their rights rather than endure the wait.
It's simple math:
- •Can't wait 2 years for a permit? Don't start your business.
- •Can't afford to fight a wrongful tax levy? Just pay it.
- •Can't navigate the disability appeals process? Accept the denial.
Delay becomes de facto denial—without the legal liability of an actual "no."
The Cruel Math of Government Time
For bureaucracies, time costs nothing. Their funding continues whether they process your case or not.
But for citizens, time is everything:
- •A veteran waiting for healthcare while cancer spreads
- •A small business owner watching savings dwindle during permit delays
- •An immigrant family separated while visas stall
- •A wrongfully accused taxpayer losing their home during an audit
This asymmetry of time value isn't an accident. It's leverage.
The Broken Cycle
Here's how the cycle perpetuates:
- •Agency creates complex process with undefined timeline
- •Backlog develops, wait times explode
- •Agency requests more funding to address backlog
- •Congress provides more resources
- •Wait times remain the same or increase
- •Repeat
The perverse incentive is clear: The worse your performance, the more resources you receive. The longer the lines, the bigger your budget.
Real Solutions from Real Operational Experience
As someone who has fixed broken systems in the military and private sector, I know that fixing this requires a fundamental shift in how government measures success.
1. Mandatory Service Level Agreements (SLAs)
Every government process should have a published, guaranteed maximum wait time. Miss it? The citizen gets automatic approval or compensation.
2. Time-Based Budgeting
Agency funding should be directly tied to speed of service. Process cases faster? Get more resources. Create delays? Lose budget.
3. Default to Approval
After a reasonable review period, the default should be approval unless the agency can articulate a specific reason for denial. The burden of delay should fall on government, not citizens.
4. Personal Accountability
Department heads should have their compensation and continued employment tied to processing times, just as executives do in the private sector.
5. Radical Transparency
Real-time dashboards showing processing times for every government service should be public. Let citizens see which agencies are working and which are weaponizing wait times.
This Is Personal
I've seen this from multiple angles. As a military officer, I watched as fellow veterans were broken by VA wait times. As an executive, I saw small suppliers crushed by regulatory delays. As a citizen, I've experienced the maddening void of unanswered government queries.
The delay isn't just the damage. It's often the entire point.
That's why I'm running for Congress. Because the federal government needs to be held to the same standards of performance that we demand in every other aspect of American life.
Time isn't just money. It's life itself. And no bureaucracy should have the power to weaponize it against the people it serves.
