Posted on 07/05/2010 7:56:36 AM PDT by Kaslin
Congress and President Obama talk a good story when discussing the need for federal budget cuts, but Americans will know they are serious when they eliminate certain sacred cows from the federal budget. Over the past 17 months, the Obama Administration has made token attempts at budget cutting, promising cuts tomorrow if allowed to spend today. But, with an annual deficit of $1.2 trillion and public debt of $13,200,000,000,000.00, more stringent measures are needed.
While some officials have suggested limited cost containment, there are some programs, totaling over a trillion dollars, which neither Congress nor Obama seem to have considered cutting.
1. Cap the number of White House staffers & Czars: Czars have garnered a good bit of media attention over the past year, but little attention has been paid to the staff of these Czars. Currently, the Obama Administration has approximately 42 Czars and each of these czars comes with requirements for office space, technology, supplies and staff that amount to billions of taxpayer dollars. Getting a grip on the czar’s expenditures would equal or even exceed the $100billion-over-5-years budget cuts proposed by Defense Secretary Gates.
White House Staffers have also grown in number over the past two decades with approximately $40 million in pay. And, while a recent White House report on staff cites 17 fewer employees than last year, the report does not take into account the full contingent from the Vice President’s office, from OMB staff or Czars.
2. Eliminate Agency and Congressional slush funds: When Executive agency programs are cut, the funding is reallocated to other, internal agency priorities by the Agency head. When Agencies have programs that end early or have unused funds, these funds usually do not go back to the Treasury. In fact, it is very difficult to return unused funding to the Treasury department. The funding stays in a “slush” fund at Congress or at the federal agency, unmonitored, for the most part, except the Congressional or Agency CFOs, and often becomes the “go-to” place for pet projects or to cover agency or congressional over spending. These slush funds range from a few million to several hundred million and are not transparent to the American taxpayer, nor are most members of Congress aware of their existence or size.
3. Cut certain bonuses for federal workers: Public service is not supposed to be a path to wealth. Currently, federal agency employees can receive annual retention bonuses and signing incentive bonuses that can go as high as $50,000 per individual. At a time when unemployment is at 9.5% all signing and retention bonuses should be eliminated. These “bonuses” are one of the ways bureaucrats can augment a federal employee’s salary above the standard civil service pay scale. Retention and Incentive bonuses also carry no requirement for performance evaluation. Many federal workers receive retention bonuses each month for decades while employed by the federal government.
4. Eliminate phantom federal employees and their contingent slush funds: Federal Agencies never have on staff the full quota of employees allowed by OPM or their federal budgets because the hiring process is lengthy and there is a continual cycle of hiring and attrition at all federal agencies. However, each year, all Executive agencies place a line item in the federal budget and allocate the payroll & benefits costs as if these employees existed. The amount of federal funding allocated to these “phantom” employees is in the billions. This funding provides a convenient slush fund within federal agencies that can then be re-allocated mid-year to other agency priorities not approved by Congress.
5. Reduce the number of committees and subcommittees in Congress: Congress has approximately 23 House committees with 104 House subcommittees. The Senate has approximately 17 standing committees with 70 subcommittees. In addition, there are approximately 69 Joint (Senate/House) committees as well as several Conference committees. Committees require staff ranging from office administrators to chiefs-of-staff to general counsels to research assistants. These personnel require office space, supplies, technology and travel expenses to perform their duties. All of this occurs at taxpayer expense.
With fewer congressional committees and less staff, there might be less time and resources devoted to witch-hunts and show trials, and more effort spent on the business of government.
Congress and President Obama have been myopic, thinking that the primary way to improve the nation’s bottom line is by increasing taxes on American citizens. Yet, any good businessman knows that creating sustainable economic growth requires both an increase in revenue and cuts in expenditures. After 17 months of out-of-control, bloated legislation costing trillions of dollars, Congress and Obama have shown they are serious about spending. Now let’s see them get serious about budget cuts.
Excellent! We need to make a much bigger issue of this.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.
BUMP!
Yes! Omar Bar Hus O’Bumouti is really a queen termite.
There it is again, my tagline! LOL except it's not LOL
Retention bonuses? Cut them immediately and tell federal employees that if they can find a better job somewhere else, go for it.
“
3. Cut certain bonuses for federal workers: Public service is not
supposed to be a path to wealth.
“
Tell that to some of my friends that work for the EPA.
They’ll chuckle and tell you that they became “accidental millionaires”
by taking government jobs about 25 years ago.
(In other words, the perks are so good, they didn’t have to even work
hard to get rich.)
At that point we should scrap every department of govt. there is and basically start over.
It's the only solution.
Otherwise you could engage in a never ending pissing contest over nickels and dimes and windup letting the country go bankrupt just from what spending is already in the pipeline.
The Joker has already spent all the money we could ever spend for the rest of this decade. The only chance for the country is to defund all of it and start over.
Whydon’t we just get rid of the entire federal education bureaucracy?
We can replace it with a nation-wide standardized test to get a high diploma. (Oh, wait. We already have the GED.) States can figure out how to provide schools.
Steal a page from Arnold’s playbook and cut all federal salaries to the minimum wage including salaries for congress critters, their aides, executive branch minions, IRS employees, and federal Judges.
All Federal employees excepting military below full colonel to take a 15% pay cut. All federal retirements to take a 10% cut.
HUD, Education, to take a spending cut of 20%.
All farm price supports to be done away with.
All current Social Security recipients to take a 10% cut. All future, i.e. under 65 years to take a 10% cut. For all who have 20 years to retireor more, partial benefits at 70 years, full benefits at 75 years ofage.
If we are going to cut, and we must, lets cut big!
Takes too long. Just start eliminating Departments in terms of how ineffective they are. Start with the Depastment of Energy and Department of Education. Then IRS and H&HS.
All federal, NON-military retirements and you got a deal.
Kill the following agencies:
1. DEA
2. Dept of Ed
3. Dept of Energy
4. Homeland Security
5. HUD
6. Dept of Ag
7. Dept of Labor
8. Eliminate all Czars
9. Cut WH staff 1/2
10. Cut Congress by 1/2
11. All other Fed Employees take a 50% cut immediately.
They can sue their asses off won't get a dime. Start over create an entire new govt. Redo all departments, eliminate some,privatize others,its now a matter of having a feasible/affordable govt. or not.
I agree with you on the Departments of Education, Energy, and Agriculture. I Do not agree to eliminate Homeland Security. 9/11 made it necessary. However no Union people should be allowed in it. I am not sure about the Department of Labor. I agree completely on the Czars. And somewhat on the White House staff. I disagree with you to cut Congress by 50 percent. You realize The more populous a state is the more Representatives it needs. And aren’t military personnel Federal employees? Do you want to cut their pay 50 percent? I don’t think so
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