Government's Greatest Hits
A new survey rates the federal government's most significant accomplishments of the past 50 years.
ooking back from the edge of a new millennium, it is difficult not to be proud of what the federal government has tried to achieve in the past half century. Name a significant domestic or foreign problem, and the federal government made some effort to solve it. If a nation's greatness is measured in part by what its national government succeeds in doing, the United States measures up very well, indeed.
The proof is in the federal statute books. All told, Congress passed 538 major laws between 1944 and 1999. Recently, a Brookings Institution team analyzed those statutes and came up with a list of the federal government's 50 most significant problem-solving endeavors of the last half century. The list includes efforts to reduce discrimination; help veterans readjust to civilian life; balance the federal budget; strengthen the nation's highway system; ensure safe food and drinking water; protect the wilderness; expand foreign markets for U.S. goods; increase assistance to the working poor; and provide financial security in retirement.
Which of these endeavors has been the most successful? To get at the answer to that question, Princeton Survey Research Associates conducted a survey last summer of 450 American history and government professors. Because most history and political science professors are white, male and liberal, the respondents were largely white (90 percent), male (77 percent) and liberal (65 percent). More than 80 percent characterized themselves as Democrats or Democrat-leaning independents. The experts were asked to rate each of the 50 endeavors according to three criteria:
- How important was - or is - the problem addressed by the goal?
- How difficult was - or is - the goal?
- How successful have the federal government's actions been?
The survey suggests the federal government mostly picked important and difficult problems to solve - and then solved them, from rebuilding Europe after World War II to cutting the federal budget deficit.
Respondents gave the 50 endeavors an average rating of 3.2 on a four-point scale from "not important" to "very important." On a similar scale from "not difficult" to "very difficult," the endeavors received an average rating of 2.9. Finally, when it came to the issue of the federal government's success in actually achieving each goal, respondents gave the 50 endeavors an average rating of 2.5 on a four-point scale from "not successful" to "very successful."
Successes and Failures
The overall score for government's achievements in the charts on these pages was determined by a tabulation based on six parts success, three parts importance and one part difficulty. The respondents turned out to be nearly unanimous about the federal government's achievements at both the top and bottom of the list.
Even when respondents were divided into categories based on ideology, gender and academic discipline, each group ranked the top three achievements in the same order: rebuilding Europe, expanding the right to vote and opening public accommodations. The same pattern holds at the bottom of the list, where devolving responsibilities to the states is always last.
But there were some differences. Men put containing communism seventh on the list of government's greatest achievements, while women ranked it 38th. (Containing communism ended up 14th overall.) The ratings by historians put helping veterans seventh, reducing the federal deficit at 14th and containing communism 22nd. The ratings by political scientists put reducing the deficit sixth; containing communism eighth; and helping veterans 16th. (Overall, the deficit ended up ninth, veterans 12th). The ratings by liberals put containing communism at 22nd, while the ratings by conservatives put it second, tracking a familiar pattern that distinguished Democrats from Republicans.
Confirming the old adage that "where you stand depends on where you sit," political opposites disagreed on both importance and success. Liberals and Democrats rated expanding voting rights, increasing access to health care for low-income Americans and reducing workplace discrimination as more important problems than conservatives and Republicans did, and considered reducing the budget deficit to be a more successful endeavor. Conversely, conservatives and Republicans rated expanding trade and controlling immigration as more important problems than liberals and Democrats did, and rated ensuring safe food and drinking water, enhancing workplace safety, protecting the wilderness, reducing hunger and improving nutrition, and improving air quality as more successful endeavors.
These disagreements, however, pale in comparison to the enormous consensus regarding the endeavors at the top and bottom of each list. Conservatives moved devolution up a few levels from the bottom on the list of importance, difficulty and success, but not into the top 10; liberals moved containing communism somewhat farther down the list, but not to the bottom. As such, the ratings generally put the lie to the notion that the federal government creates more problems than it solves.
Lessons of Achievement
The general consensus on government's greatest achievements indicates that no one party, Congress or President can be credited with any single achievement. Rather, achievements appear to be the direct product of endurance, consensus and patience.
The list underscores three other lessons:
- Achievement appears to be firmly rooted in a coherent policy strategy.
- Achievement appears to reside at least partly in the moral rightness of the cause, whether a belief in human equality, a commitment to world peace and democracy or a determination to honor promises to previous generations.
- Government has its greatest impact where the private and nonprofit sectors simply will not go.
Just as one can be awed by what the federal government accomplished over the past half century, one can wonder whether government will ever be so bold again. Are the nation's leaders so worried about losing their jobs that they will not take the risks embedded in the kind of inherently risky projects that reached the top 10? Are Americans so impatient for success that no program, however well-designed and justified, can outlast the early difficulties that face so many innovative efforts? And are the media so addicted to stories of government failure that no endeavor, however noble and well-designed, can survive long enough to achieve results? These questions would not be so troublesome but for the fact that many of the important problems identified in this list still need to be solved.
The Top 50
Respondents to the Brookings Institution survey were asked to rate each of the 50 endeavors on the list in terms of the importance of the problem to be solved, the difficulty in solving it and the federal government's success in meeting the challenge. The overall score for each endeavor was determined by a tabulation based on six parts success, three parts importance and one part difficulty. For more information on the rating system and the full results of the survey, go to www.brookings.edu/endeavors.
| Rank | Endeavor | Description | Overall Score |
| 1 | Rebuild Europe After World War II | Action to support post-World War II economic recovery and political stability. e.g., Establishment of the International Monetary Fund under the Bretton-Woods Agreement Act 1945, Foreign Assistance Act 1948, North Atlantic Treaty 1949. | 3.71 |
| 2 | Expand the Right to Vote | Action to guarantee the right to vote for all Americans over 18. e.g., Civil Rights Act 1964, 24th Amendment 1964, Voting Rights Act 1965, 26th Amendment 1971. | 3.53 |
| 3 | Promote Equal Access to Public Accommodations | Action to desegregate public facilities and require handicapped accessibility. e.g., Civil Rights Act 1964, Open Housing Act 1968, Americans with Disabilities Act 1990. Action to build, improve and maintain the interstate highway system. e.g., Federal Aid to Highway Act 1956, Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act 1991. | 3.32 |
| 4 | Reduce Disease | Action to prevent and treat disease through research, direct assistance and regulation, e.g., Polio Vaccine Act 1955, National Cancer Act 1971. | 3.11 |
| 5 | Reduce Workplace Discrimination | Action to prohibit employers from discriminating based on race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age or disability, e.g., Equal Pay Act 1963, Civil Rights Act 1964, Age Discrimination Act 1967, Americans with Disabilities Act 1990. | 3.09 |
| 6 | Ensure Safe Food and Drinking Water | Action to establish and enforce food and water quality standards, e.g., Federal | 3.07 |
| 7 | Strengthen the Nation's Highway System | Action to build, improve and maintain the interstate highway system, e.g., Federal- Aid Highway Act 1956, Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act 1991. | 3.04 |
| 8 | Increase Older Americans' Access to Health Care | Action to provide health insurance to older Americans, e.g., Medicare 1965, | 3.03 |
| 9 | Reduce the Federal Budget Deficit | Action to balance the federal budget, e.g., Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings) 1985, Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act 1990, Omnibus Budget Reconciliation 1993, Balanced Budget Act 1997. | 3.01 |
| 10 | Promote Financial Security in Retirement | Action to raise Social Security benefits, expand the number of recipients, ensure program's solvency, protect private pensions and encourage individual savings for retirement, e.g., Social Security expansions, Supplemental Security Income program 1972, Employment Retirement Income Security Act 1974. | 2.99 |
| 11 | Improve Water Quality | Action to control water pollution and raise water quality standards, e.g., Water | 2.99 |
| 12 | Support Veterans' Readjustment and Training | Action to assist veterans with their transition back to civilian life, e.g., Serviceman's Readjustment Act 1944, New GI Bill Continuation Act (Montgomery GI Bill) 1987. | 2.97 |
| 13 | Promote Scientific and Technological Research | Action to support basic research and to develop new technologies, such as the | 2.97 |
| 14 | Contain Communism | Action to impede communism, e.g., Aid to Greece and Turkey 1947, North Atlantic Treaty 1949, Korean and Vietnam Wars. | 2.95 |
| 15 | Improve Air Quality | Action to control air pollution and raise air quality standards, e.g., Clean Air Act 1963, Motor Vehicle Pollution Control Act 1965. | 2.93 |
| 16 | Enhance Workplace Safety | Action to reduce workplace hazards, e.g., Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act 1969, Occupational Safety and Health Act 1970. | 2.93 |
| 17 | Strengthen the National Defense | Action to build and modernize the national defense, e.g., authorization of tactical and strategic weapons systems, Department of Defense Reorganization Act 1958, Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act 1986. | 2.91 |
| 18 | Reduce Hunger and Improve Nutrition | Action to provide food assistance to children and adults, e.g., National School Lunch Act 1946, Food Stamp Act 1964, Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) 1972. | 2.90 |
| 19 | Increase Access to Post-Secondary Education | Action to provide assistance for higher education through loans, grants and | 2.89 |
| 20 | Enhance Consumer Protection | Action to create safety standards and raise awareness of potential hazards, e.g., Amendments to Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act 1962, Fair Packaging and Labeling Act 1966, Consumer Product Safety Act 1972. | 2.88 |
| 21 | Expand Foreign Markets for U.S. Goods | Action to reduce tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade, e.g., Bretton-Woods Agreement Act 1945, General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1947, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Treaty 1961, North American Free Trade Agreement 1993. | 2.86 |
| 22 | Increase the Stability of Financial Institutions and Markets | Action to increase access to financial market information, assist ailing institutions and avert potential problems, e.g., Securities and Exchange Act 1975, Insider | 2.84 |
| 23 | Increase Arms Control and Disarmament | Action to limit nuclear weapon development and use, e.g., Nuclear Test Ban Treaty 1963, Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty 1969, SALT/ABM Treaty 1972, Intermediate Range Nuclear Force Treaty 1988. | 2.84 |
| 24 | Protect the Wilderness | Action to safeguard land from commercial and recreational development, e.g., Wilderness Act 1964, Wild and Scenic Rivers Act 1968, Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act 1980. | 2.79 |
| 25 | Promote Space Exploration | Action to develop the technology for a lunar landing and further space exploration, e.g., National Aeronautics and Space Administration Act 1958, Apollo mission funding 1962, funds for a manned space station 1984. | 2.76 |
| 26 | Protect Endangered Species | Action to prevent loss of threatened species, e.g., Marine Mammal Protection Act 1972, Endangered Species Act 1973. | 2.75 |
| 27 | Reduce Exposure to Hazardous Waste | Action to restore the environment and manage hazardous waste, e.g., Resource Conservation and Recovery Act 1976, Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (Superfund) 1980. | 2.72 |
| 28 | Enhance the Nation's Health Care Infrastructure | Action to build medical treatment and research facilities, e.g., Hospital Survey and Construction Act 1946, Mental Retardation Facilities Construction Act 1963, Heart Disease, Cancer and Stroke amendments 1965. | 2.70 |
| 29 | Maintain Stability in the Persian Gulf | Action to remove Iraqi forces from Kuwait in the 1991 Gulf War. | 2.70 |
| 30 | Expand Home Ownership | Action to promote ownership through home loans and mortgages, e.g., Housing Act 1950 and 1959, Tax Reform Act 1986. | 2.69 |
| 31 | Increase International Economic Development | Action to provide aid for development, e.g., Establishment of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development under the Bretton-Woods Agreement Act 1945, Act for International Development 1950, Peace Corps 1961. | 2.68 |
| 32 | Ensure an Adequate Energy Supply | Action to facilitate the development of domestic energy sources and promote | 2.67 |
| 33 | Strengthen the Nation's Airways System | Action to create and maintain the air traffic control system and promote the safety and development of the air industry, e.g., Federal Airport Act 1946, Airport and Airways Development Act 1970. | 2.66 |
| 34 | Increase Low-Income Families' Access to Health Care | Action to provide health insurance to poor Americans, e.g., Medicaid 1965, Children's Health Insurance Program 1997. | 2.64 |
| 35 | Improve Elementary and Secondary Education | Action to enhance education from preschool through high school, e.g., National Defense Education Act 1958, Elementary and Secondary Education Act 1965, Head Start 1967. | 2.62 |
| 36 | Reduce Crime | Action to increase law enforcement officers, strengthen penalties, control guns and support prevention programs, e.g., Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act 1968 and 1994, Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act 1993. | 2.61 |
| 37 | Advance Human Rights and Provide Humanitarian Relief | Action to improve social conditions abroad by protecting human rights and providing relief aid, e.g., United Nations charter 1945, Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act 1986, Kosovo intervention 1999. | 2.60 |
| 38 | Make Government More Transparent to the Public | Action to increase public access to government activity and reduce administrative abuse, e.g., Administrative Procedures Act 1946, Freedom of Information Act 1966, and 1974, Government in the Sunshine Act 1976, Ethics in Government Act 1978, Inspector General Act 1978. | 2.56 |
| 39 | Stabilize Agricultural Prices | Action to support crop prices, distribute surpluses and control production, e.g., Agriculture Act 1948 and 1961, Agriculture Trade Development and Assistance Act 1954, Food Security Act 1985. | 2.55 |
| 40 | Provide Assistance for the Working Poor | Action to raise the income of the working poor through tax credits, assistance with expenses and a guaranteed minimum wage, e.g., Earned Income Tax Credit 1975, Family Support Act 1988, increases to the minimum wage. | 2.55 |
| 41 | Improve Government Performance | Action to enhance government efficiency, e.g., Civil Service Reform Act 1978, Federal Managers' Financial Integrity Act 1982, Chief Financial Officers Act 1990, Government Performance and Results Acts 1993, Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act 1994. | 2.47 |
| 42 | Reform Welfare | Action to increase self-sufficiency among welfare recipients, e.g., Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act 1981, Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act 1996. | 2.47 |
| 43 | Expand Job Training and Placement | Action to create jobs and provide vocational training, e.g., Employment Act 1946, Small Business Act 1953, Economic Opportunity Act 1964, Comprehensive Employment and Training Act 1973, Job Training Partnership Act 1982. | 2.46 |
| 44 | Increase Market Competition | Action to deregulate industries including airlines, banks, utilities and telecommunications, e.g., Airline Deregulation Act 1978, Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (financial services overhaul) 1999. | 2.45 |
| 45 | Increase the Supply of Low-Income Housing | Action to develop new public housing and subsidize rents in private units, e.g., Housing Act 1949, Housing and Community Development Act 1965 and 1974. | 2.36 |
| 46 | Develop and Renew Impoverished Communities | Action to improve the quality of life in poor rural and urban areas, e.g., | 2.33 |
| 47 | Improve Mass Transportation | Action to develop improved urban mass transportation and railway systems, e.g., Urban Mass Transportation Act 1964, Rail Passenger Service Act 1970. | 2.30 |
| 48 | Reform Taxes | Action to lower tax rates, e.g., Revenue Act 1964, Economic Recovery Tax Act 1981. | 2.27 |
| 49 | Control Immigration | Action to set and enforce standards on immigration, temporary admission, | 2.22 |
| 50 | Devolve Responsibility to the States | Action to shift power from the federal government to the states, e.g., State and Local Fiscal Assistance Act (general revenue sharing) 1972, Unfunded Mandate Reform Act 1995, Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (welfare reform) 1996. | 2.11 |
Paul C. Light is vice president and director of governmental studies at the Brookings Institutions and senior advisor to the Presidential Appointee Initiative.