The following is based on a conversation between Penn Jillette and
Glenn Beck. A sacred cow is a term used to describe a policy, or part of
government that people are unwilling to change or remove due to backlash,
favoritism or popularity. However, if you are serious about cutting
government you must be willing to cut your own favorite institutions within the
government. In this case Penn Jillette said pick your top three
government programs and institutions and if you can willingly remove your
favorites then you can cut any and all parts of government. Basically, it
is proof to yourself that you actually want smaller government, and that you
personally are able to achieve it. I, my readers took up this challenge.
The First Cut: The Military is one of my sacred
cows. I come from a family that has at least one member having served or
is currently serving in every branch of service. But if I am serious,
then I need to be willing to cut parts of the military. For my cuts, the
Air Force and Navy will be fused together, along with any and all cyber
security institutions run by the government. My reasoning is that the
Constitution says we can have a Navy and an Army, it makes no mention of
anything else. So the Navy in this case will take care of all roles that
relate to dominance on the battlefield. These include air, space, oceans,
beneath the oceans, cyber warfare, and intelligence. By placing all these
together (as each shares overlapping intelligence gathering roles, resupply
roles amongst others) we streamline the military and its bloated bureaucracy.
This also means the NSA, and other intelligence agencies will be fused
together as well. As such, this new Navy will be organized into separate
corps each specializing in its roll, but working together.
The Second Cut: In this case, my next cut is the
Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It has for years since its creation
under Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt aided in keeping our food safe and
in some cases fighting the drug war. However, it is due to the drug war,
its restrictions on new medical technology, and it inefficiency that I am now
willing to drop the hammer on this institution. States already have laws
regarding drugs (legal and illegal), and food which led me to my overall
conclusion that this agency no longer has a purpose despite all the good it has
done or could still do. In fact there is no reason to doubt Sweden's, or
England's drug and food agencies if they deem them safe which each State can
copy or even use to see if something is safe for us. So each State can
make its own drug policies and liberate the system, or they can even work
together to keep policies harmonized throughout the country without any federal
input.
The Final Cut: This was harder for me. The
top two were easier because I have done research on making things more
efficient in the military and that the FDA could be replaced easily by existing
institutions. However, this last one I feel is more difficult. The
last cut is the State Department. Originally part of the War Department
(which became the department of defense) it became independent with the idea of
maintaining relations between countries. It has since spawned many branches and
has helped maintain relations with other countries. However, all of its
many components and overlapping agencies has become bulky, and they have been
in the past been responsible for international incidents (the latest of which
is the Benghazi terror attack). It is my belief that if the State department
wants to play spy, then it should be eaten (along with the other agencies it
overlaps with) into the Central Intelligence Agency. By doing so, the
intelligence gathered within diplomatic circles will be more readily
accessible, and at the same time could be shared with allies, friends,
non-aligned and allies of convenience more readily. Also, with the
knowledge being acquired and distributed, diplomats will have a leg up on
negotiations and also aid in maintaining balances of trade, and other varieties
of political, economic and military relations. I would need to do more
research to justify this, or look for another viable alternative.
Conclusion: These are my sacred cows I would cut and
or modify. Yes, I know that they can be deemed controversial, but if I am
not willing to cut these, then what good am I to the people of the United
States if I should ever be in the position to make the changes necessary/needed
to protect and uplift our nation.
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