Are You a Citizen or a Customer of the U.S. Government?

I think that the present attitude in America is that citizens are customers of the government. Citizens are supposed to own the government and play an active participative role in its running. They belong to political parties that represent the collective voice and interests of all. Customers generate income for a business, receive services, and are typically seek the best deal. Similarly to the citizen, a customer can and will unite to create bargaining power to create change within an industry. Information technologies have created economic benefits, management practices, and efficiencies that have pushed citizens to be "customers" of the government. If a citizen has access to non-rival public goods in a country then he/she is a customer of the government. Law enforcement, clean air, highways, and all public goods are monitored, maintained, and improved by various agencies with the US government.

Information technology has helped to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of government processes. This in turn has created plentiful systems and services for reaching the masses. The goal is to provide continuous access to government services, easy access to information, and single points of entry for access…basically better access to the government. Just like Starbucks delivers premium coffee and a premium service through its supply chain operations, the US government is moving toward providing "premium services" for its "customers". In November 2004 the Pentagon canceled plans to allow military members to vote online in the presidential elections. The program was put on hold until the problems of security and redundancy could be worked out. The government's attempt to initiate the program is very similar to Starbucks showcasing an innovative service to attract customers. DoD's aspiration to provide voting access for deployed men and women satisfies intergovernmental requirements and more importantly provides a "premium service" for the "customer".

Because the citizen of a country is a customer of the government, the government must restructure its practices and economic platform to maintain systems that provide services to the customer. While I believe that information technology has helped to improve the operation of the government, I don't think it is a priority of the government to leverage these technologies to provide "premium services". If it were priority, the electronic voting program in 2004 would have been instituted in order to provide efficient voting access for all US citizens. The fact that there is not an exclusive agency to manage the internet similar to the FCC continues to leave the power within the hands of the private industry. By implication military service members such as myself do not enjoy potential conveniences such as online voting because the government does not control the technology.

Too many times I hear that the lack of infrastructure, the lack of bandwidth, and the lack of secure internet access is the reason that a technology can't be put into practice to provide a needed service. Does this mean I will now denounce my citizenship because the government cannot deliver a service just like I would go across the street to Seattle's Best if Starbucks didn't serve my coffee in a certain way? Of course not, what it means is that there needs to be a shift in thinking within the government. The frustrations previously mentioned are minimal in comparison to the frustrations felt by millions every day. The government must educate decision makers and begin taking on a citizen centered approach to running the government. The implications of adopting technologies and controlling private industry outweigh the costs of not doing so. The government has to stop taking "safe, baby steps" and fully embrace the steps needed to move into the information age and distribute the benefits to the millions of customers in the country. These steps may include greater government provisions, increased subsidizing of public goods by private industry, and legislative action.