Issue 33 Cutting Government March 14,2013

This issue is on what can be cut from the budget without any impacts on the rest of the American public save potential cost savings. All cuts listed here are my opinion and my opinion alone.

Unspent money: Did you know that money allocated to certain federal programs has not been spent yet. The President has either frozen spending on certain programs (depending on which administration you are looking at) or money set to be spent by law has not been paid out yet. Basically all this money is sitting there doing nothing. I say take that money by law and put it back in the U.S. Treasury or use it to pay off the debt.

Discretionary spending: There is a part of the Federal Government spending called discretionary spending. This spending is what as known as pork barrel spending (money from politicians to bribe voters to vote for them). Such spending includes studying the drinking habits of Chinese prostitutes, Obese Lesbians, shrimp on treadmills and poetry reading cowboys in Nevada (this one sponsored by Senator Harry Reid). Spending of this nature takes up approximately 17% of the federal budget, and I say to cut it all. It does not matter how small the cuts are, but it does matter when it is contributing to the national debt.

Inter governmental loans: Did you know that a portion of the national debt is what the U.S. Government owes to itself. How you ask? Well when money is allocated by law, and Congress wants to spend surplus money from that program/department, they must borrow it. It is the same exact reason that the federal government owes Four and a half trillion dollars to Social Security and Medicare combined. It is unlikely that any of this domestic debt will ever be paid off, and as such I say remove ourselves of that debt. If it is to a program, department or agency that is dysfunctional or can be eliminated, then get rid of it. As to the debt owed to Social Security and Medicare, have congress mandate that the two agencies can only spend money collected from last year and that any money left over can then be put into the treasury for expenditures. At the same time, Congress with its power to modify the two programs can by legislation eliminate that debt entirely. Basically, they have to say money borrowed from one part of the government and given to another is not debt. That is almost $5 trillion dollars eliminated from the debt in one fell swoop.

Bureaucratic Spending: The government workers have been spending a bit too much money lately. There was the GSA with its conference in Nevada, and now a $55,000 party coordinator by the Department of Defense. These two examples are the tip of the iceberg, and there is sillier spending to come. Basically, the government workers are not saving us money and so their budgets must be cut. The Congress must do something about this, and fast. Make them use Skype or other teleconference devices. When a face to face is necessary, meet in a meeting room at the job.

Bad programs: Any spending on a program that does not show results should be eliminated. In short, a program that shows little to no benefits should either A: be integrated into another program where it may finally achieve results in combination with the merged program, or B: get rid of it entirely. One such program is Head Start, an education program designed to aid poor children in getting a literal head start in education. Results have been dismal, as after first grade the children show no marked improvements compared to their peers who are not in the program. So based on this, this program should be integrated into another education program which will pick up where "Head Start" leaves off after first grade. Another program that failed is the virtual fence on the boarder between the U.S. and Mexico. It does not keep a single illegal immigrant out, but does allow us to count them. As an utter failure, the program should be eliminated.

Foreign Aid: We spend money giving aid to countries like North Korea, Egypt, Somalia and China in the hopes that they will be more likely to vote our way in the United Nations, or support us in other international treaties and actions. Well, as that really does not work in reality and we are giving China money rather than paying back our debt to them, I say cut out that spending. There is no point throwing money away uselessly. America can be better served having trade relations with those countries to enrich both ours and their populations without having to spend a dime.

Conclusion: Will these minor cuts amount to much, probably not. Our Government owes over $16 trillion and counting. The United States spends $3 trillion a year, but only takes in $2 trillion (approximately). We cannot afford to borrow any more money for garbage. I did not address government overlap/redundancies here, or taxation for reform is necessary in those areas regardless. Also, I did not say which departments could be cut/merged for those are separate and require another post (expect one from me tomorrow talking about the military). Fiscally, the country is headed toward ruin as soon our government will be completely unable to pay off the interest on the national debt and thus result in bankruptcy for the nation. We must get our federal government spending in order if we wish to keep programs like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. America thankfully has time to fix itself, but that time is running out.