If the bloated federal bureaucracy were a business, it would have to balance the books. A new CEO would be brought in to set the strategy and focus priorities around the strategy. Spending on ACLU activities not supporting the strategy would be immediately cut. No program would be immune from scrutiny.
There would also be across the board spending and payroll cuts. Typically a new CEO of a turnaround company will within the first week cut headcount across the board by at least 10% knowing the remaining employees will take up the slack. It is amazing when there are fewer people how many nonproductive paper pushing activities naturally go away when there are fewer bodies to do the work.
Another benefit of across the board head count costs is the least productive people are normally the ones cut. A department manager, told to cut one employee will automatically send packing the employee who walks into the office late everyday, chit chats on personal phone calls throughout the day, and races out of the office at 5:00 pm while others are slaving away.
Over the past three decades private industry has gone through waves of downsizing to become more efficient. Given the federal bureaucracy has continued to grow through that time it is ripe for significant reduction. Likely a 15% across the board reduction of head count could be implemented without having any real impact on services. Combine with a 10% reduction in non interest on the debt spending, and you’ve closed about 1/3 of the annual deficit with minimal effort. Then begin cutting entire departments who no longer have any purpose or whose missions can be accomplished by state and local government. Education, Labor, Commerce, Agriculture, HUD, and much of Health and Human Services can be eliminated or transitioned to the states within a year.
With respect to Defense we have to decide what it’s real mission is. Over the past 50 years the military has been an imperialist force intervening around the globe in wars at the whim of the President. On the whole these wars were conducted at great expense with little positive impact on the safety of the average citizen. Plus our huge military has allowed Europe and Japan to transfer most of their defense costs to the US taxpayer. Meanwhile, we’ve failed to implement a missile defense shield to truly protect the homeland from nuclear missiles and we have failed to protect the borders allowing millions of foreigners to invade and settle the homeland. If we take a hard look at the mission of our military, agree to stop intervening in the affairs of nations around the globe, and focus on defending the homeland, we can realize significant savings in defense spending while actually making our borders and our citizens more secure.
Unfortunately our political leaders have no will to prioritize goals and cut spending to levels required to support the essential activities. It is easy to see how this will play out. If Obama is reelected, he will blame the Republicans for not working cooperatively with him. The automatic cuts and tax increases will be implemented in January. Obama will implement the spending cuts in a way that will be most visible and painful to the people. He will go on a relentless PR campaign blaming the Republicans in Congress. After a few months, the Republicans will compromise, restoring the spending while leaving in the tax increases? The tax increases will slow the economy causing the Federal Reserve to print more money and Obama to demand more spending. If the Republicans don’t pass the new spending they will be blamed for the bad economy. Ultimately we will have hyperinflation followed by a financial collapse.
Same if Romney is reelected. At this point it is unlikely the Republicans will capture the Senate. Even if they do Harry Reid can filibuster to obstruct Romney’s agenda particularly tax reform. The Republican leadership will be afraid to cut spending during a recession. The deficit will continue to spiral out of control resulting in economic collapse.
At this point it seems economic collapse is inevitable within the first two years of the new President’s term. Is it better to reelect Obama and let the collapse happen on his watch? Or is it better to elect a liberal Republican and let conservative Republicans be falsely blamed?
Blaming Republicans (or even Democrats) for the pending economic collapse is a matter of no importance at all.
The proper question is - who will be left to pick up the pieces, and how should they be put back together?
A Romney election will give us a little more time to prepare and fewer pieces to deal with.
An Obama election will immediately precipitate the disintegration of the country.
Rates of change are important. People can survive and recover from terrible shocks as long as they don't all come at once.
Agree that the Fed gov is seriously over staffed. While I would disagree with you on the Departments to be closed, feeling many of them were created for a reason that still exists, they still need to be downsized as mission creep has created many agencies that duplicate the activities best done in other Departments. Defense is over staffed somewhat, but many of the civilian agencies have much more excess staffing. I would take the equivalent in all agencies of how many Captains per PFC, and fire all administrators in excess of that number.
It seems everyone in a profession with Federal oversight has stories of how the agencies that oversees their profession could be streamlined, removed or otherwise improved.
No, I’m not going to let the country collapse just so we can blame Obama for it. I have more confidence than you that the GOP will win the Senate and, with control of the House, Senate and White House, and with Paul Ryan’s leadership, the GOP may yet grow the backbone to do what’s right. It’s our only hope.
The problem with your analysis is that you concede the collapse is already inevitable and want to affix the blame. I think with a strong national will, it can be saved and if Republicans control all three houses, there’s a chance it can happen.
Regardless of who is in control, America won’t be worth saving if it is allowed to collapse. You might as well just move to another country now.