"....I am also talking about problems like regulatory bodies that cannot keep up with the industries they regulate...."


Ha! The CRTC is still trying to decide on VHS versus Beta !..


On the topic of no metrics to measure the delivered performance to the people the program was targeted to, as well as no improvement even years after a problem has been shown to exist.

Why?

1. In the private sector, if you do not manage well, you are shown the door. Not always, but far more than in the public sector (however, it is not hard to beat "never" as in the public sector) 

2. In terms of the end rusult nor being visible to the people who were intended to benefit - more and more government programs have as the largest component, and very often the majority - the cost of delivery i.e. staffing.

Education - 85% of expenses are wages. You can see this in many government programs, and it is increasing all the time..