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So I typically get up and check the news in the morning (afternoon as I work nights) when I wake up. Grab a cup of coffee and browse through various news sites. And this morning I got quite the treat while reading Fox News. Not unexpected, but...unexpected.
Now, by all means, consolidate and merge. Efficiency is certainly not a word typically associated with "government agencies" so that's kind of a breath of fresh air. However, redundancy is not a foreign word in government speak and there is probably a lot of fat (and I can't even type that without chuckling to myself) in various government agencies, but a blanket authorization to do within the government as the president sees fit?
Umm, no. Can I get "why don't we detail a plan and present it for approval for $1.2 Trillion Alex." (I'll get to that not arbitrary number here in a bit)
Just thinking this is extremely dangerous to give a sitting president, any of them, blanket authorization to reform the government. While it begins with "We can cut up to 3,000 jobs and streamline efficiency by removing redundant agencies" it ends with a really quiet "and we created a whole new department <cough> <cough> with 10,000 new employees <cough> <cough> to manage doodad production and widget trading in the American economy."
That's about how it typically goes. So no thanks.
Now if the President had come up and said "I want to merge federal agencies A, B and C, hack agency D entirely, move department E under department F all of which will save us $5 billion over the next two years, eliminate 4K redundant positions and remove restrictions on businesses and the consumer."
It's called a specific plan and something along those lines is far easier to swallow. Don't ask for blanket authorization to reform the government, just give a specific plan. Don't keep it hidden behind closed doors. Don't surprise anyone. Just let the People know. Something about transparent government? I think I heard that someplace before. No smoke and mirrors, no backdoor deals, no hidden agenda, no politics. Just a specific plan and no blanket authorization to reform the government. Not that I don't trust the president...okay, I don't trust him.
Blanket authorization to reform still requires the Congressional approval on an up and down vote. And with the current track record of going around Congress when he doesn't get his way, this is a dangerous situation to be in. So his plan gets voted down. Surprise executive order puts it in place anyway. And knowing the typical Washington political scene, the measures would have a few hundred riders hidden in the fine print that end up costing us an additional $30 billion over the $3 billion we supposedly saved.
A specific plan. That's about all we the people should be asking...actually demanding from our government.
So I move on in the news, stumble upon this little gem.
Yeah, saw that one coming. We are spending far more than we take in (read the article) and on programs that frankly shouldn't be funded to the extents they are (think welfare, bailouts, larger government and foreign aid). And we need another debt increase.
Imagine that when things like this are going on:
So a company that got half a billion dollars in "loans" from the government, goes bankrupt and cannot pay the loan money back and suddenly has enough money (and I would be willing to bet $1.2 trillion I know exactly where that money came from) to give bonuses?
And we need a debt increase because of what reason again? Our government is spending more money that it's taking in and we can't afford to pay our bills yet companies that went bankrupt are giving bonuses to their employees?
Does anyone else see the problem here? And yet, we cannot afford our bills somehow.
Is it just me or am I just being far too cranky and cynical after waking up? But the more coffee I drink, the more I wake up. And the more I wake up, the more I shake my head and like my dog more than some...most politicians.
So we need to cut and streamline certain parts of the government to save money all while raising the government spending limit another trillion or so dollars and while companies use government loan money to give bonuses to their employees as they go bankrupt and never have any intention of paying back the half a billion dollars they wasted in your taxpayer dollars? Let's face it folks, I ain't stretching to connect the dots here.
Yes, I like dogs very much thank you.
So this dear friends and readers. This is the reason you should vote this year. Your should be demanding from your...YOUR representatives in Congress that a stop be put to this madness. We increase the national debt once again, waste more money in government loans that never get paid back, foreign aid for nations that really don't like us very much and generational welfare to recipients who are too lazy to actually find a job and keep popping out more kids to make more "free" taxpayer money all while saving $3 billion over five years by giving the President blanket authority to "reform" the government.
I hope I've made my point clear. It's an important year to vote and let your voice be heard.
President Obama announced Friday that he is elevating the head of the Small Business Administration to a Cabinet-level position, as he urged Congress to also grant him permission to consolidate that and other federal agencies in an attempt to make government more efficient.
Umm, no. Can I get "why don't we detail a plan and present it for approval for $1.2 Trillion Alex." (I'll get to that not arbitrary number here in a bit)
Just thinking this is extremely dangerous to give a sitting president, any of them, blanket authorization to reform the government. While it begins with "We can cut up to 3,000 jobs and streamline efficiency by removing redundant agencies" it ends with a really quiet "and we created a whole new department <cough> <cough> with 10,000 new employees <cough> <cough> to manage doodad production and widget trading in the American economy."
That's about how it typically goes. So no thanks.
Now if the President had come up and said "I want to merge federal agencies A, B and C, hack agency D entirely, move department E under department F all of which will save us $5 billion over the next two years, eliminate 4K redundant positions and remove restrictions on businesses and the consumer."
It's called a specific plan and something along those lines is far easier to swallow. Don't ask for blanket authorization to reform the government, just give a specific plan. Don't keep it hidden behind closed doors. Don't surprise anyone. Just let the People know. Something about transparent government? I think I heard that someplace before. No smoke and mirrors, no backdoor deals, no hidden agenda, no politics. Just a specific plan and no blanket authorization to reform the government. Not that I don't trust the president...okay, I don't trust him.
Blanket authorization to reform still requires the Congressional approval on an up and down vote. And with the current track record of going around Congress when he doesn't get his way, this is a dangerous situation to be in. So his plan gets voted down. Surprise executive order puts it in place anyway. And knowing the typical Washington political scene, the measures would have a few hundred riders hidden in the fine print that end up costing us an additional $30 billion over the $3 billion we supposedly saved.
A specific plan. That's about all we the people should be asking...actually demanding from our government.
So I move on in the news, stumble upon this little gem.
President Obama is kicking off 2012 with an uncomfortable but inevitable request -- for Congress to permit another $1.2 trillion increase in the debt ceiling.
Imagine that when things like this are going on:
According to a report in The Washington Times, company attorneys have filed a proposal in federal bankruptcy court to hand out bonuses worth between $10,000 and $50,000 to about two dozen Solyndra workers.
And we need a debt increase because of what reason again? Our government is spending more money that it's taking in and we can't afford to pay our bills yet companies that went bankrupt are giving bonuses to their employees?
Does anyone else see the problem here? And yet, we cannot afford our bills somehow.
Is it just me or am I just being far too cranky and cynical after waking up? But the more coffee I drink, the more I wake up. And the more I wake up, the more I shake my head and like my dog more than some...most politicians.
So we need to cut and streamline certain parts of the government to save money all while raising the government spending limit another trillion or so dollars and while companies use government loan money to give bonuses to their employees as they go bankrupt and never have any intention of paying back the half a billion dollars they wasted in your taxpayer dollars? Let's face it folks, I ain't stretching to connect the dots here.
Yes, I like dogs very much thank you.
So this dear friends and readers. This is the reason you should vote this year. Your should be demanding from your...YOUR representatives in Congress that a stop be put to this madness. We increase the national debt once again, waste more money in government loans that never get paid back, foreign aid for nations that really don't like us very much and generational welfare to recipients who are too lazy to actually find a job and keep popping out more kids to make more "free" taxpayer money all while saving $3 billion over five years by giving the President blanket authority to "reform" the government.
I hope I've made my point clear. It's an important year to vote and let your voice be heard.
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