Posted on 01/17/2025 3:18:15 AM PST by george76
There's an old military saying about a certain material, which was often found on parade grounds back in the days of horse-mounted troops, and how it tends to roll downhill. That's a metaphor, of course, for how pressure on senior officers tends to flow downwards to junior officers, to NCOs, and eventually to the E-4 Mafia and the private soldiers. But in the military as well as in government, sometimes good ideas roll downhill, too.
As an example, we have a very good idea, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) being set up by the incoming Trump administration. Now, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds has announced in her State of the State address the formation of a state-level DOGE to root out wasteful government spending in the Hawkeye State.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) announced she would create a statewide Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in her Tuesday address, making her the latest governor to signal efforts to slash wasteful spending in a measure modeled after the newest federal agency.
“I like to say that we were doing DOGE before DOGE was a thing,” Reynolds said.
“And to build on our success, I’m launching our own state DOGE to find even greater savings and efficiencies in both state and local government,” she added.
The Republican governor said Emily Schmitt, general counsel of Sukup Manufacturing, would lead the department.
“In just a few short years, we’ve turned our state into a national model for bold, get-it-done government. And we’re not stopping,” she said.
Turns out, Iowa isn't alone in this.
Similarly, last week New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte(R) announced her decision to launch a DOGE commission to “slash” wasteful spending in her inaugural gubernatorial address.
“We need to make sure that the government is operating more like the lean process in manufacturing, where waste is eliminated each step in the process for a better result,” she said.
I guess good ideas can grow wings.
...
As I've been saying for many years, and as I think anyone who pays attention to these things would agree, it is the nature of government to grow ever larger, more intrusive, and more expensive. The evidence of the last four years may well prompt us to add "more corrupt" to that listing, as well. But with the impending premiere of "Trump II, Rise of the Dark MAGA," and his tagging in Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to take a bite (hopefully, several large bites) out of federal spending, there seems to be a renewed emphasis on identifying and eliminating wasteful spending.
Governments at all levels waste money. It's a big part of what they do. There are no incentives for the government to be efficient, or at least, there weren't until the DOGE. Indeed, the incentives all run in the opposite direction. There's no accountability, except that in the cases of elected officials, they must answer to their voters. But too many politicians deal with this by playing Santa Claus and promising a never-ending gravy train of free stuff. They are rewarded for their profligacy with reelection.
That may be changing now; the new emphasis on rooting out wasteful government spending may spread beyond Washington. I wouldn't bet on the idea gaining much traction in Massachusetts or California, but you never know.
There's literally no downside to this.
Seems California's getting sick of 'pretty boy' politicians ... they might be ready for substance over silly/shallow - it could happen.
NH already has an executive council to review items before the funds are granted to make sure they go for what they are intended.
Blue state racketeering will continue
I suspect we’ll get DOGE in Illinois too - Dept of Government Expansion
Hey everyone! Let’s not take this potentially positive news lying down!
We have a responsibility to see the negative in any news and convince ourselves and everyone else that no matter the potentially good news, all is lost and everything will fail!
Get with the program you Pollyanna wannabes!
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