This, my friends, is how government really works. 

If you live in a city or a suburb you likely use a garbage bin to dispose of your household waste. It makes sense, right? A container to keep the vermin, raccoons, dogs, and flies away from your trash as it waits to be picked up by the garbage man. 

New York is one of the few cities to forego the obvious solution to its own rat problem. Instead, the city has hired a "Rat Czar" with a six-figure salary.

Mayor Adams introduced a radical new technology called a trash bin that buildings will be required to use. It’s the next phase of NYC’s Trash Revolution

NYC is making progress! pic.twitter.com/h7EvvL3OvI

— AlwaysSunnyNYC (@AlwaysSunnyNYC) July 8, 2024

But Mayor Adams had a bigger ambition: he asked McKinsey, the huge consulting firm, to explore a radical idea: trash bins. He paid them $4 million to look into the issue. 

$4 million. 

the trash problem in NYC has always been a major issue - rats, bad smells, and obstructions for traffic

— ConsultingHumor (@ConsultingHumor) July 9, 2024

It's an impressive sum, but McKinsey came through with a report worthy of the sum. In 95 pages, it conclusively demonstrated that, on balance, trash cans are a superior solution to the previous practice of putting Hefty bags out on the curb. 

If you think about it, that is a good return on the investment. It takes quite a bit of time to work up some tables and produce fancy graphics to state the obvious and to convince government officials to do the blindingly obvious. 

Mayor Adams even got a photo opportunity out of the deal, complete with newspaper and television coverage. He got to introduce THE FUTURE OF TRASH!

Introducing the official NYC Bin!

Today, we ROLLED OUT the next phase of our ‘Trash Revolution,’ showing New Yorkers how we're going to place even more black bags into the dustbin of history. pic.twitter.com/2WCOFnerSP

— Mayor Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) July 8, 2024

It is a revolution, I tell you. New York City is super forward-thinking, and manages taxpayer money well. Although, to be honest, I would have been willing to give them the same advice for free, but I don't have the prestige that McKinsey does. 

McKinsey getting paid $4 million to fix NYC's trash problem pic.twitter.com/4lfk4Fd4rb

— Overheard on Wall Street (@OHWallStreet) July 9, 2024

I love the idea that Mayor Adams has taken valuable time out of his schedule filled with spending billions of dollars on housing and feeding illegal aliens who are on a crime spree in his city to hold a press conference on trash bins. At least it is a problem that he can solve and proof positive that the city is capable of doing the right thing once every other option is exhausted. 

https://t.co/1soaulS0w6 pic.twitter.com/NtNifK5oB4

— John Ekdahl (@JohnEkdahl) July 9, 2024

One of the things I noticed when I was lobbying at the Minnesota legislature was the ubiquity of reports from consultants, paid for either by the government or by groups hoping to persuade bureaucrats and legislators. You and I may rely on common sense, but government needs experts. 

Only experts can provide a definitive response to the question of whether it is better to leave Hefty bags on the sidewalk or use trash cans. 

Now we know. 

Beginning November 12, all properties with 1-9 residential units will be required to set their trash out in...a wheelie bin! Who'd have thought???

Don't have one? Property owners and building managers can buy the Official NYC Bin at https://t.co/Pe5iBzWmij. pic.twitter.com/sZzPgaknBM

— NYC Sanitation (@NYCSanitation) July 8, 2024

My suggestion for a new study: is it better to crap in the streets or use toilets? San Francisco needs to know.