Posted on 03/01/2018 7:07:09 AM PST by Kaslin
Of all the promises candidate Donald Trump made during the 2016 presidential campaign, none will be more difficult to fulfill than cutting the size and cost of the federal government. That's because Congress, which must decide whether to keep a federal agency, has the final word in such matters and spending, especially spending in one's home state or district, is what keeps so many of them in office. Who doubts that self-preservation is the primary objective of most members of Congress?
Ronald Reagan made similar promises about reducing the size of the bloated federal government, but was unable to fulfill them because of congressional intransigence. Perhaps his most notable failure was attempting to eliminate the Department of Education, an unnecessary Cabinet-level agency created by Jimmy Carter, reportedly as the fulfillment of a campaign promise to the National Education Association (NEA), the largest labor union in the United States, which backed him in the 1976 and 1980 elections. This pithy statement by Reagan got to the heart of the issue: "No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth!"
President Trump has asked every federal agency to submit a reorganization plan to the White House. Some programs, like the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) Biological Survey Unit (BSU), are decades old. The BSU was established in 1885, and among its tasks is the preservation of the whooping crane. Last I checked those birds seemed to be doing OK, but why is this, along with so many other things, a responsibility of the federal government?
Reorganization of these outmoded and unnecessary programs and agencies should not be the goal. Elimination should be the goal. Unless they are killed off, the risk of their return is likely.
What's needed is a strategy that shames Congress, which sometimes seems beyond shame, for misspending the people's money. What will help in that shaming is for the president to establish an independent commission made up of retired Republicans, Democrats and average citizens. This commission would conduct a top-to-bottom audit of the federal government and present its findings to Congress, while simultaneously releasing them to the public, which would then apply pressure on Congress to adopt them.
The commission would be modeled after the Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) of the '80s, which eliminated military bases that were no longer needed for the defense of the country. Some members of Congress complained about BRAC, but in the end they could not justify maintaining the bases.
The president might want to start with some of these ridiculous programs recently highlighted by Thomas A. Schatz, president of Citizens Against Government Waste, a private, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization whose mission it is "to eliminate waste, fraud, abuse and mismanagement in government."
"Without authorization," notes Schatz, "the feds spent $19.6 million annually on the International Fund for Ireland. Sounds like a noble cause, but the money went for projects like pony-trekking centers and golf videos.
"Congressional budget-cutters spared the $440,000 spent annually to have attendants push buttons on the fully automated Capitol Hill elevators used by representatives and senators.
"Last year, the National Endowment for the Humanities spent $4.2 million to conduct a nebulous 'National Conversation on Pluralism and Identity.' Obviously, talk radio wasn't considered good enough.
"The Pentagon and Central Intelligence Agency channeled some $11 million to psychics who might provide special insights about various foreign threats. This was the disappointing 'Stargate' program."
The list goes on and on. Go to cagw.org, read all about it and remember it's our money paying for these boondoggles (definition: "a project funded by the federal government out of political favoritism that is of no real value to the community or the nation") that helps keep our free-spending career politicians in office where they get benefits the rest of us can only dream about.
Yes, entitlements are the main drivers of debt and they, too, need reform. But starting with programs most people would find outrageous and worthy of elimination is a good way to build confidence and make the tackling of entitlements more palatable.
Ronald Reagan didn’t have the Congress, Trump does.
1) TOP -DOWN AUDIT of the entire government
2) END SPEND-IT-OR-LOSE-IT budget policy!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Pay bonuses to employees for SAVING money.
3) Announce one-year amnesty for turning yourself in for government fraud
4) Announce legislation for mandatory minimum 10 year jail for any government fraud (including vote fraud)
5) announce a reward/bonus program for anyone reporting government waste/fraud.
The criminals will be turning them selves in to avoid being turned-in for the reward.
Let’s just wait and compare after Trumps spends 8 years as POTUS. Reagan failed to decrease the number of non-military federal employees and actually allowed it to increase. Let’s see how Trump does.
If the GOP wants to avoid being wiped out in 2018 they better get around to keeping their promises.
Good plan...
Also cut everything that primarily benefits liberal elites... Climate Change Boondoggles, NPR, PBS, the UN, liberal colleges... etc etc etc... If they can’t make it on their own, let them go under.
What promises are not being kept? Trump never said he would accomplish everything THE FIRST YEAR IN OFFICE.
Tell me, what’s he NOT doing that he promised?
> “This commission would conduct a top-to-bottom audit of the federal government and present its findings to Congress, while simultaneously releasing them to the public, which would then apply pressure on Congress to adopt them”
Sorry Cal, and you should know better.
This was already done by the Grace Commission under Ronald Reagan. It accomplished nothing. The pressure that was applied did accomplish a budget agreement on paper but the democrats lied and reneged.
What good is any agreement when one party lies to gain political advantage, then reneges and can’t be held accountable?
But you are right that reorganization is not the remedy, it is elimination. That won’t happen though.
The only thing that can bring about elimination of unnecessary segments of government is deflation, restructuring of debt FOR CITIZENS so that their monthly expenses are brought close to zero, and a Balanced Budget Amendment. When these things happen, wasteful government has no basis to build upon.
One other thing that will scale back wasteful government is elimination of trillions in government debt by reform of the Federal Reserve, clawback from other nations and individuals, spoils of war, and by other means to bring entitlement spending into proportion.
The Wall, send them back, repeal Ocare, respect 2nd , cut spending, lock her up, defund PP, etc.
Will he be able to keep every promise? I have no idea, but he should not be blamed if he can't.
Yikes.
Most of us elected him based on him getting most of his agenda done WITHIN THE FOUR YEARS HE RAN ON...
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