There's a lot of talk about how to do it, and a lot of people who think it's the most difficult project Congress will ever undertake. Guess again, it's actually one of the simplest. I propose a four-step plan, based (no surprise, I hope) on the enumerated powers section of the U.S. Constitution:
First, end all federal departments that are not constitutionally authorized.
After examining the enumerated powers in Article 1 Section 8, I find 5 executive departments to be wholly unconstitutional. They are, with their FY2011 budgets (in billions):
First, end all federal departments that are not constitutionally authorized.
After examining the enumerated powers in Article 1 Section 8, I find 5 executive departments to be wholly unconstitutional. They are, with their FY2011 budgets (in billions):
Agriculture: | $132.3 |
Education: | $71.5 |
Health & Human Services: | $900.8 |
Housing & Urban Development: | $47.5 |
Labor: | $116.7 |
Total: | $1,268.8 |
That's about 80% of the 2011 budget deficit, an estimated $1.55 trillion. Of course, the last three Obama budgets have exceeded their deficit estimates, but, now that he's had some practice, he might actually get this one right.
Second, examine programs within the remaining departments and independent agencies for constitutionality and duplication.
2-A: For example, the Department of the Interior has 11 agencies within it:
(1) Bureau of Indian Affairs
Transfer these functions to the Dep't of State – Native Tribes are separate nations, treat them as such.
(2) Bureau of Land Management
Disband it and transfer all federal lands to the control of the States in which they are located, except for those in active use as office buildings, military posts, etc.
(3) Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement
Keep it.
(4) Bureau of Reclamation
Keep it, but limit its operations to oversight of interstate waterways.
(5) Fish and Wildlife Service
Disband it – it has no constitutional authority.
(6) Office for Oil Spills
Disband it – hardly an agency with a really successful track record.
(7) Office of Insular Affairs
Keep it – it deals with US territories and freely-associated states.
(8) Office of Surface Mining
Disband it – a mine is located within a State, it should operate under local regulation.
(9) National Mine Map Repository
Transfer it to the Dep't of Commerce, NARA or other suitable agency.
(10) National Park Service
Keep it, but reduce it to those few facilities which really are national in scope and of historic significance, such as Liberty Island, Fort McHenry or the Gateway Arch; transfer all other lands to the States.
(11) United States Geological Survey
Keep it – it creates and oversees the national atlas.
You'll notice only 5 (in green) of the 11 agencies remain in Interior, 2 (in blue) are transferred to other departments, and 4 (in red) are disbanded. Maybe we could eliminate one third of the DOI budget.
Second, examine programs within the remaining departments and independent agencies for constitutionality and duplication.
2-A: For example, the Department of the Interior has 11 agencies within it:
(1) Bureau of Indian Affairs
Transfer these functions to the Dep't of State – Native Tribes are separate nations, treat them as such.
(2) Bureau of Land Management
Disband it and transfer all federal lands to the control of the States in which they are located, except for those in active use as office buildings, military posts, etc.
(3) Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement
Keep it.
(4) Bureau of Reclamation
Keep it, but limit its operations to oversight of interstate waterways.
(5) Fish and Wildlife Service
Disband it – it has no constitutional authority.
(6) Office for Oil Spills
Disband it – hardly an agency with a really successful track record.
(7) Office of Insular Affairs
Keep it – it deals with US territories and freely-associated states.
(8) Office of Surface Mining
Disband it – a mine is located within a State, it should operate under local regulation.
(9) National Mine Map Repository
Transfer it to the Dep't of Commerce, NARA or other suitable agency.
(10) National Park Service
Keep it, but reduce it to those few facilities which really are national in scope and of historic significance, such as Liberty Island, Fort McHenry or the Gateway Arch; transfer all other lands to the States.
(11) United States Geological Survey
Keep it – it creates and oversees the national atlas.
You'll notice only 5 (in green) of the 11 agencies remain in Interior, 2 (in blue) are transferred to other departments, and 4 (in red) are disbanded. Maybe we could eliminate one third of the DOI budget.
2-B: Eliminate non-constitutional independent agencies. For example:
Commission of Fine Arts
Federal Council on the Arts & the Humanities
Institute of Museum & Library Services
National Commission on Libraries & Information Science
National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Humanities
National Foundation on the Arts & the Humanities
The enumerated powers include only protection of intellectual property, not the obligation to pay for its creation, nor to oversee those who collect it.
2-C: Consolidate necessary federal functions. For example, these 6 independent agencies all oversee part or all of the federal civilian workforce:
Federal Executive Boards
Federal Labor Relations Authority
Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board
Merit Systems Protection Board
Office of Government Ethics
Office of Personnel Management
Federal Labor Relations Authority
Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board
Merit Systems Protection Board
Office of Government Ethics
Office of Personnel Management
Office of Special Counsel
Human resource management is a necessary function of any organization. But divided responsibilities usually generate increased bureaucracy, duplication of effort, budgetary competition and other negatives. A single Office of Federal Employment would be easier to watchdog.
Human resource management is a necessary function of any organization. But divided responsibilities usually generate increased bureaucracy, duplication of effort, budgetary competition and other negatives. A single Office of Federal Employment would be easier to watchdog.
2-D: Question – why are these independent agencies?
Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board
Tennessee Valley Authority
These sound like functions that should be performed by the Dep't of Energy.
Federal Labor Relations Authority
Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service
Federal Mine Safety & Health Review Commission
Federal Trade Commission
International Trade Commission
National Labor Relations Board
National Mediation Board
National Technology Transfer Center
Occupational Health & Safety Review Commission
Small Business Administration
Trade & Development Agency
These sound like functions that should be performed by the Dep't of Commerce.
Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board
Tennessee Valley Authority
These sound like functions that should be performed by the Dep't of Energy.
Federal Labor Relations Authority
Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service
Federal Mine Safety & Health Review Commission
Federal Trade Commission
International Trade Commission
National Labor Relations Board
National Mediation Board
National Technology Transfer Center
Occupational Health & Safety Review Commission
Small Business Administration
Trade & Development Agency
These sound like functions that should be performed by the Dep't of Commerce.
We could make a number of such lists, and, again, redundancy breeds inefficiency. While we're examining for consolidation, we can also ask: Do we actually need these agencies? Do they operate under an enumerated power?
How bad is it this redundancy? On 1 March 2011, Breitbart.com noted:
How bad is it this redundancy? On 1 March 2011, Breitbart.com noted:
"A report from the nonpartisan GAO, to be released Tuesday, compiles a list of redundant and potentially ineffective federal programs, and it could serve as a template for lawmakers in both parties as they move to cut federal spending and consolidate programs to reduce the deficit. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK), who pushed for the report, estimated it identifies between $100 billion and $200 billion in duplicative spending. The GAO didn’t put a specific figure on the spending overlap. . . .The agency found 82 federal programs to improve teacher quality; 80 to help disadvantaged people with transportation; 47 for job training and employment; and 56 to help people understand finances, according to a draft of the report reviewed by The Wall Street Journal."
What was that phrase I kept hearing while I worked for the federal government? Oh, yes, "Waste, fraud and abuse." Apparently, there are a few things this government does really well.
According to the Social Security Agency, "The national average wage index for 2009 is $40,711.61." Other sources quote higher figures, between $50,000 and $60,000. Public officials do a little better than average:
According to the Social Security Agency, "The national average wage index for 2009 is $40,711.61." Other sources quote higher figures, between $50,000 and $60,000. Public officials do a little better than average:
President | $400,000 |
Vice President, Speaker of the House and Chief Justice | $208,100 |
Associate Justices | $199,200 |
Secretaries of Executive Departments | $180,100 |
Senators & Representatives | $162,100 |
This does not include expenses for travel, entertainment, staff and other things. According to Answers.com, Congress has a legislative staff of about 11,700 (approx. 22 aides per member) plus the committee staffs, operational staff (security, janitorial, etc.) and support agency staffs, totaling about 24,000 people, which costs us taxpayers several billion per year in pay, benefits, retirement, etc.
This is, of course, far less than the millions senior executives earn in private enterprise, but that is none of your business or mine. Private enterprises are the property of the stockholders, if they want to overpay their underperforming executives, it's their money. Public officials and employees are another matter – We, the People, are the stockholders. As one pundit recently remarked while discussing the Wisconsin situation, it isn't about what the employees want; it is about what the people can afford.
Fourth, end foreign aid. If we can't afford to run America, what makes us think we can afford to run the rest of the world?
This is, of course, far less than the millions senior executives earn in private enterprise, but that is none of your business or mine. Private enterprises are the property of the stockholders, if they want to overpay their underperforming executives, it's their money. Public officials and employees are another matter – We, the People, are the stockholders. As one pundit recently remarked while discussing the Wisconsin situation, it isn't about what the employees want; it is about what the people can afford.
Fourth, end foreign aid. If we can't afford to run America, what makes us think we can afford to run the rest of the world?
There is one and only one legitimate goal of United States foreign policy. It is a narrow goal, a nationalistic goal: The preservation of our national independence. Nothing in the Constitution grants that the president shall have the privilege of offering himself as a world leader. He is our executive; he is on our payroll; he is supposed to put our best interests in front of those of other nations. Nothing in the Constitution, nor in logic, grants to the President of the United States, or to Congress, the power to influence the political life of other countries, to ‘uplift’ their cultures, to bolster their economies, to feed their people, or even to defend them against their enemies.
—Ezra Taft Benson (Secretary of Agriculture under Pres. Eisenhower)
in a speech entitled "America at the Crossroads," August 30, 1969.
It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world; so far, I mean, as we are now at liberty to do it; for let me not be understood as capable of patronizing infidelity to existing engagements. I hold the maxim no less applicable to public than to private affairs, that honesty is always the best policy. I repeat it, therefore, let those engagements be observed in their genuine sense. But, in my opinion, it is unnecessary and would be unwise to extend them.
—George Washington, "Farewell Address," September 17, 1796.
In times of disaster, Americans as private citizens, have been generous to the tune of billions of dollars; tons of food, clothing & other necessities; even to risking their lives by traveling (at their own expense) to provide services where those disasters take place. Like private enterprise, American charities do it better, faster and far more efficiently than government can hope to achieve. If it isn't a disaster, these countries need to stand on their own, just as they expect us to stand on our own – turnabout is fair play.
In sharp contrast, giving money to governments doesn't work. Much of that money ends up in the hands of warlord, despots and other assorted villains who profess to love us, but, in reality, despise us and laugh at us for our stupidity. More of it is wasted in bureaucracies, and still more is diverted to purposes for which it is not intended.
Frankly, I see little difference between U.S. foreign aid and prostitution.
The cause and the solution.
Most government agencies or programs are created to address a specific need, and some actually fill those needs. However, they all seem to be created in a vacuum, with no regard to anything anyone else is or has been doing. As I told a Facebook friend not long ago, "Not only does the right hand not know what the left hand is doing, the right hand doesn't care and would never think to ask."
I've been part of many non-profit organizations. All were run by well-meaning people, but I have seen few of them with any real sense of organizational management over the long term. The leaders do what they do because their predecessors did it. Most organizations deal with their constitutions or bylaws in this same vacuum – when they see a need, they fix it. As a result, projects and officers multiply over the years. Every so often, every organization (private, commercial and governmental) needs to stop and take a careful look at the whole picture. They need to remind themselves of their core purpose/goal and discard any program that does not move the group toward that core purpose and that goal.
I acknowledge that some programs aren't easily dismissed. I think it'll take a whole generation to wean ourselves off Social Security, because we cannot ignore the contractual obligations we entered with the people who have paid into the system over decades.
Let's say we actually pass a law in 2016 ending Social Security; that law would have to include some provision like "No deductions for Social Security shall be taken from the pay of any person under age 18 on 1 January 2016, and no Social Security retirement payments shall be made to these persons." The new generation would then have their whole adult lives to prepare for retirement. Young adults (say ages 18-30) could be given the opportunity to opt out of SS, with the understanding that it the decision would be a one-time, permanent choice. Yes, such legislation would be based on the idea that these are adults who are responsible for themselves. It's a novel concept, but one that has been successful in past generations.
Those few exceptions aside, it really is that simple: (1) Stop spending money we don't have. (2) Stop spending money we are not authorized to spend.
True, we can't simply shut down these agencies, we'd have to sunset them over a period of years – 4 to 8 years is my guess. That means we'd have to elect 2 presidents and 4 congresses that will actually bite the bullet and tighten the purse strings and take the heat for putting several hundred thousand federal employees back into the private sector.
Which means the solution, as always, is not in the process, it's in the people. We have had our fill of politicians, we need to replace them with statesmen.
Thanks for listening, tune in next week for another rant.
In sharp contrast, giving money to governments doesn't work. Much of that money ends up in the hands of warlord, despots and other assorted villains who profess to love us, but, in reality, despise us and laugh at us for our stupidity. More of it is wasted in bureaucracies, and still more is diverted to purposes for which it is not intended.
Frankly, I see little difference between U.S. foreign aid and prostitution.
The cause and the solution.
Most government agencies or programs are created to address a specific need, and some actually fill those needs. However, they all seem to be created in a vacuum, with no regard to anything anyone else is or has been doing. As I told a Facebook friend not long ago, "Not only does the right hand not know what the left hand is doing, the right hand doesn't care and would never think to ask."
I've been part of many non-profit organizations. All were run by well-meaning people, but I have seen few of them with any real sense of organizational management over the long term. The leaders do what they do because their predecessors did it. Most organizations deal with their constitutions or bylaws in this same vacuum – when they see a need, they fix it. As a result, projects and officers multiply over the years. Every so often, every organization (private, commercial and governmental) needs to stop and take a careful look at the whole picture. They need to remind themselves of their core purpose/goal and discard any program that does not move the group toward that core purpose and that goal.
I acknowledge that some programs aren't easily dismissed. I think it'll take a whole generation to wean ourselves off Social Security, because we cannot ignore the contractual obligations we entered with the people who have paid into the system over decades.
Let's say we actually pass a law in 2016 ending Social Security; that law would have to include some provision like "No deductions for Social Security shall be taken from the pay of any person under age 18 on 1 January 2016, and no Social Security retirement payments shall be made to these persons." The new generation would then have their whole adult lives to prepare for retirement. Young adults (say ages 18-30) could be given the opportunity to opt out of SS, with the understanding that it the decision would be a one-time, permanent choice. Yes, such legislation would be based on the idea that these are adults who are responsible for themselves. It's a novel concept, but one that has been successful in past generations.
Those few exceptions aside, it really is that simple: (1) Stop spending money we don't have. (2) Stop spending money we are not authorized to spend.
True, we can't simply shut down these agencies, we'd have to sunset them over a period of years – 4 to 8 years is my guess. That means we'd have to elect 2 presidents and 4 congresses that will actually bite the bullet and tighten the purse strings and take the heat for putting several hundred thousand federal employees back into the private sector.
Which means the solution, as always, is not in the process, it's in the people. We have had our fill of politicians, we need to replace them with statesmen.
Thanks for listening, tune in next week for another rant.
Great rant!
ReplyDelete