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  3. A generation ago, after a series of horrible scandals, Australia abandoned hundreds of detailed rules governing nursing homes fo

A generation ago, after a series of horrible scandals, Australia abandoned hundreds of detailed rules governing nursing homes fo

admin2016-11-09  70
问题     A generation ago, after a series of horrible scandals, Australia abandoned hundreds of detailed rules governing nursing homes for the elderly. Rather than insisting, for example, that they should offer at least 80 square feet of floor area per resident, the government set broad principles. Care homes were told to offer a "homelike environment" and to respect residents’ "privacy and dignity." Philip Howard, an American lawyer and campaigner for better governance, records the alarm this triggered among regulatory experts. Yet alarm turned to surprise. Australian nursing homes improved measurably, as staff and owners were freed to think independently rather than blindly following checklists.
    Mr. Howard’s new book, The Rule of Nobody, calls on America to embrace the same sort of broad, principles-based regulation, allowing officials and judges more freedom to use their common sense when enforcing the law. Mr Howard offers a sad catalogue of current bureaucratic follies. Some are costly, such as the many unneeded tests and procedures for retired Americans covered by Medicare. Some are scandalous: Public subsidies were created to help Depression-era family farmers, but have since been grabbed by giant agribusinesses. He notes the rule which prevented New York’s governor from closing an empty juvenile detention centre, because its unionized employees could not be laid off without a year’s notice.
    The Rule of Nobody is fair in its politics, noting that right and left have imposed on America overly detailed regulations, under pressure from special-interest lobbies. One root of the problem is mistrust. Conservatives distrust public employees and so seek to limit their powers. The left thinks that business bosses will lose control of themselves unless bound.
    The book’s weakness—a forgivable one—may be its optimism. Mr. Howard writes about the American myth that laws need to be detailed and precise to prevent abuses and achieve uniformity. But politics explains many of the follies that he attacks. It is because the elders vote in such numbers that Medicare is expensive and hard to reform. Farm subsidies are protected by the Founding Fathers’ decision to give sparsely-populated rural states disproportionate power. Public employees’ unions are powerful because they are money-payers and suppliers of campaign foot-soldiers for Democratic politicians.
    The author realizes the mighty forces against change. But he insists that the political system in Washington is really a "house of cards." A reform movement with an accurate accusation and a credible plan "can push it over." Alas, the real-world Washington feels less fragile than rotten. And a rotting republic can last long.
Nursing homes for the elderly in Australia are mentioned to________.
选项 A、argue for the need for broad, principle-based regulation
B、show their advantages over those in the United States
C、illustrate how the elders are treated in these homes
D、describe the consequent alarm among regulatory experts
答案A
解析 文章第一段提到澳大利亚养老院的管理。由于政府以前制定了详细的规则和要求，养老院的管理问题成堆，但后来政府放松了监管，给养老院的经营者更多的自由，管理质量反而大幅度提高。该事例反映了灵活管理的重要作用。
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