A major reason for the growing distrust of government is the double standard whereby government officials and employees often suffer no consequences from incompetence, misbehavior and even criminal violations of the law. In the common law, there is a general principle that if a person is damaged by the actions of others through negligence or illegal behavior, he or she has a right to redress.

Private companies and their officers and employees are subject to criminal prosecution and civil suits for dissemination of false information about their company and products, or for selling unsafe products.

The actions of government officials and employees are often far more damaging than those in the private sector, but they are protected by “sovereign immunity” and civil service protections. Sovereign immunity is a “legal doctrine by which the sovereign or state cannot commit a legal wrong and is immune from civil suit or criminal prosecution.” It comes from the ancient concept that the “king can do no wrong.” Governments can consent to being sued, and there are many exceptions to “sovereign immunity.”

However, all too often governments use sovereign immunity or civil service protections to shield those in government from the consequences of their own actions, which have done real harm to others, even for political reasons.

Those of you who have ever managed a work force know that if you cannot get rid of poor performers, they tend to undermine both the effectiveness of the organization and morale.

Corruption in government destroys both civil society and economic growth. Part of the longer-term solution is to limit the availability of sovereign immunity protections. Several thousand years of experience show that those in government rarely do a good job in holding themselves accountable.