Cut Red Tape Before Cutting Staff

Reformers often slash headcount while leaving the same rules and processes in place, which just reduces capacity to do the same workload. Sequencing matters: reduce procedural and regulatory burdens first, then resize staff to the lighter mission. Zubok’s account shows misordered liberalization can trigger looting, and the article applies that lesson to U.S. deregulatory efforts. — This gives policymakers a concrete reform heuristic that can spell the difference between improved state capacity and hollowed‑out failure.