How Government Neglect Inflates Perceived Threats

Executive Summary

Threats often feel larger than they are when government fails to prioritize enforcement, transparency, and timely remedies. Neglect does not reduce harm—it magnifies it by creating uncertainty, inviting rumor, and eroding trust.

The Mechanics of Inflation

When institutions fail to enforce existing rules evenly or explain decisions promptly, small problems metastasize in public perception.

The cycle is predictable:

1. Unclear rules →
2. Inconsistent enforcement →
3. Opaque decisions →
4. Press and observers excluded →
5. Public infers concealment →
6. Perceived threat explodes

Silence invites speculation; delay breeds distrust.

Why Visibility Matters

Visible governance—records kept, explanations given, errors corrected—shrinks fear. When people can see the process, they can calibrate risk accurately. When they cannot, imagination fills the void.

Equal Enforcement Is the Stabilizer

Trust returns when laws are:

• Clear (knowable standards),
• Evenly enforced (no favorites, no selective neglect),
• Transparent (reasons on the record),
• Correctable (errors acknowledged and remedied).

This is not ideological. It is administrative.

The Cost of Neglect

Neglect harms everyone:

• Citizens lose confidence,
• Innocent actors are swept into suspicion,
• Real victims wait longer for relief,
• Extremists of any stripe benefit from chaos.

The Fix: Boring Competence

No crackdowns. No scapegoats. Just competence:

• Publish rules and timelines,
• Explain decisions in plain language,
• Keep accessible records,
• Allow lawful observation,
• Correct mistakes quickly.

Conclusion

Most problems grow monstrous not from strength, but from neglect. Restore transparent, even-handed governance—and threats shrink back to their true size.

References

• U.S. Const. amends. V, XIV.
• N.J. Const. art. I, ¶1.
• N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq. (OPRA).
• General principles of administrative law (notice, neutrality, proportionality, remedy).