Posted on 01/17/2017 7:58:01 AM PST by Hojczyk
Making good on a promise to slash government, President-elect Trump has asked his incoming team to pursue spending and staffing cuts.
Insiders said that the spending reductions in some departments could go as high as 10 percent and staff cuts to 20 percent, numbers that would rock Washington if he follows through.
At least two so-called "landing teams" in Cabinet agencies have relayed the call for cuts as part of their marching orders to shrink the flab in government.
The cuts would target discretionary spending, not mandated programs such as Medicare or Social Security, the sources said.
The spending reductions are expected to be used to help pay for Trump's plan to boost the Pentagon's budget, tax cuts and some pet projects, potentially including the anti-immigration wall on the nation's southern border.
The teams also are looking at staffing cuts over four years through attrition, a hiring freeze and reorganization.
The plan is winning cheers in conservative, anti-tax and anti-spending corners in Washington that have long sought massive cuts in the bureaucracy.
Presidents rarely cut spending, choosing freezes instead. In the meantime, federal spending has reached historic levels. Trump has picked a budget hawk, Rep. Mick Mulvaney, to head the Office of Management and Budget, a clear sign that spending cuts are a top priority.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonexaminer.com ...
It is very important for conservatives to set a reasonable timetable of expectations. Those who demand massive changes on “day 1” are definitely going to be disappointed.
What is far more likely is that there are going to be rather hard to see *parallel* actions. That is, president Trump has selected cabinet posts with the eye that each cabinet officer will analyze and slash just their agency.
They are going to have a little under a month to finish their analysis, plan for cuts, and to get them vetted by the White House in time for the State of the Union on February 21.
*Meanwhile*, both the House and Senate Republicans have already been very busy with their own parallel agenda, and this will intensify leading in to the SOTU.
At the same time, the opposition and obstructionists everywhere will be trying their damndest to slow down or even stop just about *everything*. Many of them will even pretend to support agenda items they want to kill dead.
The congress has already vied to kill Obamacare taxes, which will starve the beast. The senate will have a major brawl seating a replacement Supreme Court justice, that everyone realizes is ridiculously important.
Things are really going to be hopping in Washington, D.C. And news of it will be limited, the more important the news, the less will be written about it.
Think about how all that waste trickles down into wasted business hours, wasted time that could be spent doing something productive. Never mind all of the wasted tax dollars, that's just the tip of the iceberg.
20% fewer meddling bureaucrats, with 10% less budget to work with will have a massive impact on the US. Talk about turbocharging the engine....
He should start from snowflakes of SoS and terrorist of EPA.
If they attrite `first in, first out’ (consider it a probationary period they failed, like the real world) and a hiring freeze, it could work.
Three more days to DC Armageddon.
These subversives who’ve tried to destroy the economy...enjoy your time looking for employment...in an economic system you’ve destroyed. Blood suckers.
Can it be transmitted through direct deposit? /s
It's a start, but it wont really even scrape the scum off the surface.
“How about a 100% reduction in departments that have no Constitutional mandate?”
I’m good with that. Probably 90% of the federal government isn’t authorized by the Constitution.
Wouldn't that be just about all of them? Take out Defense, Treasury, Interior, and State and there isn't much left.
Hope so
I'm not talking about the business benefits of 20% fewer unneeded Federal Government Employees. Since you brought it up however, even with the effects of "turbo-charging" the economy as a result, that in and of itself will not generate sufficient enough "revenue" (read that: TAX DOLLARS) to even begin digging us out of the hole that Obama made twice as deep during his eight year reign of terror.
We're $20,000,000,000,000 (TRILLION) dollars in debt, interest rates are rising and again, the really BIG money is spent on non-discretionary programs like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, etc..
What Trump is doing vis a vis cutting federal bureaucrats and minimum 10% cut in spending across the board is an excellent start --- however it's just that: A START. Every federal program whether discretionary or non-discretionary needs to be CUT for us to start digging our way out of this debt hole we're in.
To NOT address non-discretionary spending is to simply continue kicking the proverbial can down the road.
And Justice Department.
Including the anti-immigration wall on the nation’s southern border.
Love the sound of that hope they start on it next Monday.
Come on, Trump. Don’t waste your opportunity for REAL change!
Rather cynical, re-arranging deck chairs???
The man has not yet taken the oath of office and has been working 20 hour days, and you talk about wasting an opportunity for real change???
Many agencies are dups and can be combined and some eliminated. Get rid of Child Care for workers, let them find their own baby sitters or day cares. Fitness centers, hair cuts for Senators, lots of small places you can cut, that make a big impact when rolled into one ball of wax.
Why have 6 staffers when 4 will do? Why do the staffers need aides, why does congress need aids, interns and lobbyist? Make they do their own work. Work them 5 days a week not 3 like they do now. Gut some fed holidays.
It’s a start. But MUCH MORE needs to he done in that area!
While stationed near DC in the Air Force in the 60s, Sharon and I visited an aunt and uncle in College Park, Md.
One morning I noticed that my uncle came down to breakfast and peered out the window at his neighbors’ driveways. He was a private sector electronics engineer who was heavily involved in the development of the first instrument landing systems for airports. Nearly all his neighbors held government jobs.
One morning I asked him about his routine of peering at their driveways. He responded that he was always happy to see their cars still there as it meant that they weren’t downtown wasting office supplies and making life miserable for the rest of us.
After spending 30+ years trying to make a living in what little remains of the private sector here, I fully understand why he felt the way he did.
And can someone tell me why, when there is some lower severity situation or natural event, the government sends out word that only ESSENTIAL EMPLOYEES SHOULD REPORT FOR “WORK?” Yes, yes, I know the need to have emergency medical folks and some others on duty. But it begs the question WHY THE DOES A TAXPAYER FUNDED BUREAUCRACY EVEN HAVE “NON-ESSENTIAL EMPLOYEES”??
The PRIME GOAL for every bureaucracy through history – like the entire DEEP STATE – is to GROW and bring in more and more bodies at the bottom in order to elevate those already in the damn thing, even (ESPECIALLY?) the grossly INCOMPETENT and POWER MAD. It’s how we got to the sad state in which we now find ourselves.
Lol.. 10 percent... That’s it? After the pubbies passed a 9.7 trillion dollar “vehicle to repeal care”.. 10 percent, o wait there are exceptions. They wouldn’t just shift money around and lie to us, would they?
Pay all gov checks payroll and purchases from vendors and payments to contractors with a deduction equal to the % the deficit is projected for that year. Include salaries for all politicians.
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