HOW CONGRESS CAN HELP DOGE

 

Published on Newsmax Congress Desperately Needs DOGE-Focused Hearings | Newsmax.com

Congress can assure the success of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) by fulfilling its Constitutional duty to oversee the Executive Branch.

The House’s DOGE Subcommittee, Chaired by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, can act as a “Grand Jury”.  The Subcommittee can become a key forum for informing the public of existing waste, fraud, and abuse, building the nonpartisan case for cutting budgets and eliminating programs.  This existing information would be delivered by Inspector Generals who are tasked with performing objective reviews of the finances and operations of the Executive Branch.

The first hearing could review the Defense Department (DOD) failing its 7^th financial audit.

The recent independent financial audit documented that the DOD could not account for $824 billion.

The DOGE Subcommittee could simply have the accountants reveal what they found over the seven years of failed audits.  The Inspector General witnesses will not be hostile.  They will be eager to report their findings in the hopes that tangible reforms might finally be made.

DOGE-focused hearings will be an historic opportunity to bring fundamental and lasting change to the Federal Government.

Over the years, most Congressional Oversight Hearings were contentious as they convened to embarrass the Executive Branch.  Witnesses were hostile and refused to answer questions, obfuscated their answers, and outright lied.  Members ended up talking far more than the witnesses to make their case to counter the bogus testimony.

DOGE-focused hearings will be different. 

Witnesses from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the 73 Inspector General Offices could review the last ten years of their findings.  Each year they collectively report over $650 billion in ongoing waste and provide recommended actions. 

Few of their recommendations were implemented.

What great media moments could occur if credible, nonpartisan, professionals were allowed to present their findings. They would explain how the Executive Branch has squandered $6.5 trillion over the last ten years.  They would list unimplemented reforms, which could form the roadmap of eliminating countless programs and offices.

Waste is not partisan.  No one wants public funds misspent.   

The work of the DOGE Subcommittee could be bolstered by real oversight hearings as part of the Appropriation process.

Congress can control the Executive Branch through its Constitutional power of the purse.  What is funded exists and grows, what isn’t funded shrinks or vanishes.  

Appropriations Committees are mandated to meet and build the case for spending public funds.  Administration witnesses make their case for spending.  Appropriation Committee Members make their alternative case. What should occur is a dialogue designed to align Congressional intent, and Executive Branch actions, to public spending.  What should emerge is legislation with properly vetted financials.  Supporting these numbers should be the hearing record that builds a compelling case for how and why public funds should or shouldn’t be spent.

This rarely happens in Congress.  The result is Congress abdicating its spending control and destabilizing the Constitutional balance between coequal Branches.

There has been a steady decline in incorporating Congressional oversight into the Appropriation process. In 2015, there were 128 House Appropriation hearings prior to marking-up funding legislation. In 2024, there were only 71.  House Appropriators heard from only three of the 73 Inspector Generals.  No one from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) was involved.   The handful of “public” witnesses represented Washington-based stakeholder organizations.  No one from oversight groups documenting government waste and abuse were invited to testify.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Appropriation hearings lasted three or more hours.  Hearings in 2024 averaged less than two hours.  In most cases, only the Department/Agency Head testified.

On average only three to five Members of Congress attend these hearings; even though all Subcommittees have at least eleven Members (Defense has sixteen).

There were 43 Senate Appropriation hearings in 2024.  Three Inspector Generals appeared, and there was no witnesses from the GAO or government watchdog groups.

Reversing these trends will be a critical part of establishing DOGE-focused hearings.

Senate and House Authorizing Committees could also help build the case for DOGE reforms by holding their own series of oversight hearings featuring testimony from the Inspector Generals under their respective jurisdictions along with the GAO. 

DOGE-focused hearings with House/Senate Oversight, Appropriations, Authorization Committees could form an echo-chamber of evidence building a compelling nonpartisan case for reducing the size of the Executive Branch and its cost.

The findings of these DOGE-focused hearings will make it easier to pass legislation to eliminate programs, offices, and agencies.  It will also make the case for dramatically reducing the budgets and personnel of obsolete and ineffective Executive Branch activities.

Americans deserve cost-effective government.  DOGE-focused hearings will return Congress to its Constitutional role and responsibility.

DOGE vs FEDERAL LEVIATHAN

 

[Published on Newsmax]

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is igniting widespread support for a long overdue assault on bloated and obsolete Executive Branch programs and agencies.

Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are applying advanced thinking and technology to eradicate unauthorized programs, “zombie” accounts”, and reclaim unexpended funds.  Their use of artificial or enhanced intelligence will reveal patterns of waste, fraud and abuse by mining years of Inspector General Reports and fraud hotline complaints. This pattern analysis will drive abolition, consolidation, and downsizing.

Finding the right court case and venue for overturning the unconstitutional Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (Public law 93-344) will be integral to reining in wanton spending.

Citizen Oversight: BUDGET BATTLES

DOGE can build a national movement, and internal government network, to fundamentally change the Federal Government’s mindset and culture for decades to come.  DOGE is posed to have more impact on America’s domestic policy than any other initiative since the 1960s Great Society.

A NATIONAL MOVEMENT

DOGE is the framework.  “War on Waste” (WOW) could be their battle cry. 

Everyone has stories of federal government waste, fraud, and abuse (WFA).  Finding federal waste is like “hunting cows”.  It is everywhere and obvious.

DOGE could ask Americans to “blow the whistle” on WFA.  An online form would identify the program, WFA evidence, and estimated cost.  Everyone who submits a credible WFA case would earn a digital “Waste Warrior” (WW) badge to proudly display.  Best WFA submissions, and the WW heroes who found them, could be featured each month, maybe on the DOGE podcast.  DOGE, WOW, WW, WFA merchandise could become cultural icons.

Grassroots WOW clubs and online communities could further embolden Americans to expose waste nationwide.  These could partner with existing government reform groups like Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) and Open the Books.

THE INSIDERS

DOGE needs to work through allies within the Executive Branch to find additional WFA and to implement tangible and lasting change.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) should be the central command center for implementing DOGE recommendations.   The appointment of Russell Vought is a terrific first step.  He will need to build a team within OMB to be fully effective.

Trump should reconstitute Ronald Reagan’s “Cabinet Council on Management and Administration” (CCMA) to drive DOGE reforms through the Executive Branch.  Reagan’s Counselor, Ed Meese, used the CCMA to hold agencies accountable for meeting domestic policy goals, cutting costs, and reducing personnel.  Each Cabinet Department and major agency had a full-time CCMA liaison to make sure these goals were met.

Insider whistleblowers are increasingly stepping forward.  They need to become the network to aid DOGE and identify additional WWs throughout the Executive Branch.

Another pro-DOGE network are career employees who have received graduate credits, degrees, and certificates from conservative academic institutions.  The Institute of World Politics (IWP), founded in 1990 by Reagan National Security officials, has seeded the defense and intelligence agencies with their graduates, all ready to make America strong again.  Since 2010, Hillsdale College’s Washington, DC campus has offered degrees in government to early and mid-career government employees.  Hillsdale College has been a bulwark of constitutional conservatism since 1844.

Trump’s non-career appointees, DOGE advisors, CCMA liaisons, and career allies need to make sure they quickly achieve full knowledge of Executive Branch operations.  The entrenched bureaucracy will fight reform with all resources at their disposal, which are substantial. 

One proven method is “management by walking around”.  It is amazing what can be exposed, and stopped, using this basic approach.  Early in the Reagan Administration, a political appointee visited ACTION’s loading dock.  They discovered crates of the book “Rules for Radicals” by Leftist Saul Alinsky being readied for distribution to community organizations across the nation. The shipment was stopped and the books either returned to the publisher or destroyed.

In another instance, a government warehouse manager asserted he needed to buy twelve additional forklifts to meet the tighter response time for shipping supplies.  A political appointee did a surprise inspection finding twenty inactive forklifts because there were not enough certified operators.  The manager was immediately fired.

Insiders can review contracts.  Outsiders must file Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests that will be slow-walked by the bureaucracy. 

Most federal contracts are poorly written and ineptly managed. This is intentional, as kick-backs and crony capitalism rule the day.  In one bizarre case, the General Services Administration (GSA) signed a multi-million contract to renovate the eighth-floor utility rooms at their headquarters.  An audit revealed the building only had seven floors. The contracting officer certified the fictious work was done, money was paid and split with the contractor. The contracting officer and contractor went to jail. 

Whether we love a program or hate it, we want every penny spent honestly, ethically, and effectively. 

DOGE could be the bi-partisan crusade that unites all Americans.

MUSK vs FEDERAL LEVIATHAN

 

[Published in the Sunday Guardian of India and Newsmax]

The United States (U.S.) must confront Federal Government spending.  U.S. national debt is now $35.7 trillion USD.  This is larger than the country’s $29 trillion USD Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Paying interest on the debt now exceeds $658 billion USD a year.  This debt service is becoming an increasingly large part of annual spending for the Federal Government.

Reducing the size and cost of government is a major priority for former President, Donald Trump.

He is promoting Elon Musk’s plan to find and cut trillions of dollars in Federal Government waste.

Musk will only succeed if he moves boldly and learns from the past.  His current plan to build a bureaucracy to fight bureaucracy will end in frustration.

The Federal bureaucracy has fended off countless similar efforts.

In 1982, President Ronald Reagan established something similar to Musk’s proposed effort.  The Grace Commission was charged with identifying and eradicating waste. Reagan first used the phrase, “Drain the Swamp” as part of the Commission’s mission.

Businessman, J. Peter Grace, formed the President’s Private Sector Survey for Cost Control (PPSSCC) as a separate organization funded by private sources. Over 150 prominent business leaders volunteered their time as overseers and members of the PPSSCC Task Forces. Its 36 task forces generated 2,478 recommendations that identified $424 billion USD ($1,243 billion in 2024 value) to be saved in three years. Congress ignored them all. 

Earlier government waste initiatives include the 1974-76 Commission on Federal Paperwork.  It was designed to assess paperwork burdens and implement the Paperwork Reduction Act.  The Commission employed hundreds of people to review government forms and processes.

This was my first job in Washington, DC.  As a graduate student at American University, I was a management analyst for the Housing Task Force.  One of my most surreal findings was a 36 foot (12 meter) long flow chart for applying to build government subsidized housing. The report’s 800 recommendations were issued and vanished.  Very few of the recommendations were implemented.

Vice President Al Gore led the “National Partnership for Reinventing Government (NPR)” initiative under President Bill Clinton.  It intended “to make the federal government work better, cost less, and get results Americans care about". During its five years, it was a catalyst for several operational changes, including the elimination of over 100 programs, the use of performance measurements, and expanding technology.

However, it promised savings of $207 billion USD never materialized.

There are other ways to rein in government waste.  They just haven’t been used.

Every year, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and 73 Department and Agency based Inspector General Offices issue reports.  Annually they uncover over $650 billion USD in waste.   These reports include recommended actions.  Virtually none of them are implemented.

One example: Improper payments (payments that are made incorrectly) cost the U.S. over $200 billion USD a year. The GAO estimates that the U.S. government has lost almost $2.4 trillion USD in simple payment errors over the last two decades.  No action has been taken.

Every year outsiders expose government waste.

Senator Rand Paul issues his Annual “Festivus Report” each December.  It focuses on dubious grants and contracts.  His 2023 report revealed the U.S. government paid $900 billion for worthless research, fraudulent claims, and subsidies to domestic millionaires and foreign tyrants. Some of his specific findings included: an National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant to study Russian cats walking on a treadmill, Barbies used as proof of ID for receiving COVID Paycheck Protection Program funds, $6 million to promote tourism in Egypt, and $200 million to ‘struggling artists’ like Post Malone, Chris Brown, and Lil Wayne.

Dr. Rand Paul Releases 2023 ‘Festivus’ Report on Government Waste - Senator Rand Paul

Senator James Lanford issues his “Federal Fumbles Report” that highlights laughable waste.

Federal Fumbles - Senator James Lankford

Citizens Against Government Waste’s annual “Pig Book” illuminates questionable earmarks (now called Congressionally Directed Spending).

2024 Congressional Pig Book | Citizens Against Government Waste

The challenge is not finding the waste, but actually doing something about it.

There are steps that should be taken.

Step One – Clean House 

The U.S. Government’s Executive Branch includes mostly career personnel. They are selected through a competitive application process.  Once past a probationary period they can only be removed for cause. 

However, there are thousands of Executive Branch personnel who hold “policy positions” and are not eligible for career status protection.  These individuals are appointed by the President and his Office of Presidential Personnel (OPP).  They are “at will” employees and may be removed at any time for any reason.  The listing of these policy positions is known as the “Plum Book”.  It lists around 8,000 personnel that have limited or no career protection. 

As Director of Personnel for the Reagan Campaign and Transition, I looked at organizational charts for all career personnel who directly reported to policy officials or worked in policy offices.  There were also hundreds of agency and programmatic advisory boards and committees with their own support staff.  All of these people, upwards of 50,000, can be transferred or reassigned to clear operational pathways.

Only the Reagan Transition of 1980-81 completely cleared the policy and operational pathways.  This allowed the “Reagan Revolution” to move rapidly on a broad front to fundamentally change U.S. domestic and foreign policy.

An incoming Presidential Administration usually asks for the resignations from every political appointee from the prior administration.  However, some do not comply.  Other “holdovers” find career positions.  Some create consulting arrangements to remain on the public payroll.

The Executive Branch is awash with contractors. Many of them owe their allegiance to prior administrations. All have a vested interest in garnering more money for themselves.  A detailed review of these contracts and contractors can empty out large swaths of those loyal to the “status quo”.  Many of these contracts may be poorly written and administered.  Some may have no real value.  Ending these contracts will save billions.

Step Two – Take Control

A new President is like a ship’s captain.  They stand on the ship’s bridge to control its course.  In reality, this “captain” initially has no control beyond the bridge.  The size and complexity of the Federal Government hampers any change of course.  Too many activities have lives of their own, managed by individuals who are wedded to the “status quo”.

A new President needs to insert “Change Teams”, professionals skilled and committed to making the new Administration an immediate operational reality, into all Cabinet Departments and major agencies to instantly end the previous era.  This means full control of every key decision.  This covers all legal, regulatory, procurement, personnel, grants, and expenditures.

Nothing should happen until signed off by the Change Teams. 

Locking everything down also means revoking all delegations of authority and forcing every action, communication, and policy into the hands of the Change Teams immediately.  The Change Teams must literally patrol the corridors and rattle doorknobs to make sure no one is extending the actions of the prior era.  The first few days of Reagan’s Presidency found numerous examples of career employees refusing to yield.  In one case, a grant administrator had to be physically stopped from approving $350,000 USD of Carter era grants still sitting on his desk.

Bringing in new people who are loyal and competent is vital.  So is finding and promoting their career counterparts.  Whistleblowers exposed many problems during the Biden-Harris Administration.  They should become key advisors for identifying career allies and ferreting out resistance.

Both Republican and Democrat political appointees complain that their career colleagues often hide, spin, or fake facts.  This is not partisan.  Careerists want to protect their power, turf, reputation, and pet projects.  In many cases, careerists go through the motions of supporting the new Administration without doing anything.  Discovering and thwarting “Malicious Compliance” is a major challenge. This even happens within the Office of the President as this organization is filled with career employees. 

The transition planning process needs to start identifying trusted colleagues ASAP.  These may be whistleblowers who will embrace change, and confidential sources who have already proven themselves credible to Congress and media allies.  This first wave of trusted professionals identifies those they trust, and so on, until there is a critical mass to substantively shift policy and operational direction throughout the Executive Branch.

Step Three – Follow the Money

Approximately $1.028 trillion USD remains unexpended among general accounts and $461 billion USD remains unspent in trust funds.  While these funds are technically obligated, the fact that they have languished for years raises questions about their use and management.  These funds can be reclaimed and reused.

Look for the accounting code “1941” on federal agency accounts.  This code is for “unexpired unobligated balances”.  Another database is expired grant accounts. The GAO uncovered 7,500 just in Department of Health & Human Services’ Payment Management System.  Thousands of lapsed grant accounts are briming with money that will never be used but can be reclaimed.

The late Senator, Tom Coburn, exposed these funds in a detailed report, “Money for Nothing”. Nothing was done.  The U.S. media ignored his findings.

Microsoft Word - MONEY FOR NOTHING June 6 - final

Another code is the “Current Services Budget”, or “Baseline” budget. This outlines how much it costs to maintain existing services at current levels. It factors in various cost drivers - cost of living increases, escalation clauses in contracts, etc. Funding above “Current Service” is a spending increase.  This is a built in “ratchet effect” to expanding government.

Step Four – Eliminate Programs

Congress is the headwaters of expanding government.  Every year new programs, entities, and reporting requirements are established.  Members from both parties jealously guard their progeny.

Reviewing which ones are obsolete and duplicative may shame some in Congress to let them fade away.  Some may have lost their protection as their creator has left Congress. It took years for the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process to eliminate obsolete facilities.

Abolition opportunities abound for those programs directly created by the Executive Branch.  These have no basis in law but are created under the concept of “management by news release”. One day stories that result in never ending wasteful activity.  Other programs are training projects to promote specific ideological ends, such as climate change, critical race theory, and transgender awareness.

Eliminating whole Agencies and Departments requires more courage than exists in Congress. 

Step Five – Reduce Personnel

Instituting a real hiring freeze will rapidly drop numbers through retirements and “churn” (people leaving government to take nongovernment jobs).  Special exemptions will be required as specific vacancies for performing real tasks arise.  These waivers should only be granted by the Change Teams. Do not conduct mass firings or “Reduction in Force” (RIFs).  This triggers an array of procedural impediments and legal actions.

Reagan’s General Services Administration (GSA) cut nearly two thirds of its workforce in three years using a hiring freeze without a RIF. No legal action occurred.

Congress establishes programs and organizations, but rarely details how they are staffed or managed.  This is the best opportunity to delayer, reduce, and consolidate.

The private sector has found that 2-5 layers of management are more than adequate to assure success. Corporate performance “dashboards”, knowledge management, and empowering/enabling front line workers led to abolishing the antiquated concepts of span of control, pecking order, and fiefdoms.  It is time for the Federal Government to join the 21^st Century and eliminate up to 23 layers of obsolete command & control supervisors, countless numbers of extraneous planning staffs, and unnecessary program overseers. 

Americans deserve value from every dollar spent. 

They rarely receive even $0.12 USD of value per $1.00 USD. 

Many dollars spent generate no value at all.

It is long overdue to fight Federal Government waste and win.

 

FUNDING THE WALL

[Published on Newsmax]

The solution to America’s Border Wall is hiding in plain sight.

Instead of fighting what may be a losing battle with Congress, President Trump should trigger a well-established, legal, and proven good management practice of “reallocating unused federal funds” to build America’s Border Wall.

All it will take to complete the next phase of the Border Wall is the stroke of President Trump’s pen and a push of a button from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

The simple solution is mining “unobligated balances” throughout the Executive Branch.

Every year funds are allocated for federal projects and programs based on estimates. Congress adds money when those estimates fall short, even if caused by waste and fraud. Funds sit idle when spending is less than expected.

Families face this situation all the time. You take cash to buy fast food and have change left over. That change ends up in a coin jar. A family member eventually takes the coin jar to a bank or Coinstar to turn pennies, dimes, nickels, and quarters into easier spent dollars.

Presidents, since Lyndon Johnson, have funded their priorities mining these unobligated balances through the mechanism of a “budget sweep”. The President authorizes the Director of OMB to request Executive Branch Departments and Agencies to return unobligated and unexpended funds back to the Treasury.

Johnson funded his Great Society and the Vietnam War with the billions in “loose change” lying around Executive Branch Agencies. Nixon funded the Vietnam War. Carter funded expanding domestic programs. Reagan brought down the Soviet Empire. The Bushes fought their Iraq wars. Clinton juggled funds to stay within Republican Congressional budget limits.

Then something changed. During his eight years in office, President Obama allowed $914.8 billion in unexpended, unobligated, funds to pile-up across the federal government. He never did a budget sweep. This number continues to climb under President Trump, who has also not authorized a budget sweep.

Unexpended, unobligated funds are dutifully reported under “Assets and Balance Sheets” of the federal budget released each year by the Office of Management and Budget. These funds are documented, in detail, in every Department and Agency budget under the accounting code “1941”. For the current fiscal year, there is over $150 billion in “1941” unexpended, unobligated balances in the Defense Department alone.

An additional $1.028 trillion remains unexpended among general accounts, and $461 billion remains unspent in trust funds. While these funds are technically obligated, the fact that they languish for years raises questions about their use, management, and relevance.

There is, therefore, a total of $2.651 trillion in existing Executive Branch funds potentially available for immediate reallocation.

In June 2012, to his eternal credit, former Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn issued a blistering report, “Money for Nothing” that exposed these funds for the first time. Unfortunately, not even conservative media covered it.

Senator Coburn documented this in his “Money for Nothing” report:

“In total, the federal government is projected to end fiscal 2012 with more than $2 trillion in unexpended funds that will be carried over to next year, according to the White House Office of Management and Budget. While more than two-thirds of this amount is obligated for specific purposes, $687 billion remains unobligated, meaning it is essentially money for nothing."

The existence, processes, and uses of unexpended, unobligated funds were reported by the few conservatives among Trump’s Transition Team, to no avail. OMB officials were given detailed 1941 account spread sheets, as were several Cabinet Secretaries and their staffs. Nothing happened.

Trump must take control of the Border Wall project with processes and funds that already exist and are in plain sight.

TRILLIONS HIIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT

Originally published on Newsmax: http://www.newsmax.com/ScotFaulkner/democrats-dollars-zika/2016/06/20/id/734683/

Congressional Republicans and Democrats are lying to Americans.

Congress is barely halfway through approving the 2017 Appropriations.  It has only thirty legislative days before the start of the next fiscal year.  This all but guarantees a battle over a continuing resolution or omnibus spending bill.

Recently, a Republican Congressman let slip that there are billions in “unobligated balances” that could be reallocated for fighting the Zika Virus.  It was a lightning bolt of real information that everyone ignored. This was an unintended glimpse at one of the biggest lies in Washington, DC.

Members from both parties appear on cable news hand wringing about how it is impossible to stop federal spending from devouring the country.  Liberals and Democrats assert the government is underfunded and understaffed for meeting pressing needs.  Raising taxes and expanding hiring are their only solutions.  What now passes for conservatives and Republicans express helplessness because of Obama’s veto pen and their concern that any confrontation may lead to another government shutdown.

Republicans and Democrats wail over no funds to combat the Zika Virus, terrorism, and other possible crises.  Their machinery for endlessly taxing, spending, and borrowing incessantly rolls on.

The result of this united capitulation is the perpetual growth in government spending and borrowing.  Federal spending has risen from $3.517 trillion in 2009 to $4.147 trillion for 2017.  During this same period, government debt has soared from $11.875 trillion to over $20.149 trillion, with annual increases of nearly a trillion in borrowing projected every year thereafter.

Every year funds are allocated for federal projects and programs based on estimates.  Congress adds money when those estimates fall short, even if caused by waste and fraud.  Funds sit idle when spending is less than expected.

Since President Obama took office, $914.8 billion in unexpended, unobligated, funds have piled up across the federal government.  It is dutifully reported under “Assets and Balance Sheets” on page ten of the budget released each year by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). 

You read that correctly, nearly a trillion of your tax dollars is sitting unused in plain sight. 

Another $1.028 trillion remains unexpended among general accounts and $461 billion remains unspent in trust funds.  While these funds are technically obligated, the fact that they languish raises questions about their use and their management.

That is over $2.405 trillion sitting doing nothing.  It is available right now.  It only takes the push of a button to instantly shift these funds to fighting Zika, bolstering our military and homeland security, repairing our infrastructure, debt payments, or tax relief. 

This is how the Establishment from both parties plays Americans for fools.  The funds are hiding in plain sight.  No one talks about it, because it would reveal the lie behind the Washington elites claiming helplessness.  On rare instances, someone lets slip their knowledge of this money.  In June 2012, to his eternal credit, Senator Tom Coburn issued a blistering report, “Money for Nothing” that exposed these funds in detail.  Not even conservative media covered it.

The budget debate would be very different if Americans called out Washington politicians on their dirty little secret.

Why Trump Is the Right Man for the Job

[Guest Contributor - Donald G. Mutersbaugh Sr.]

I read an interesting article the other day about “Why the #NeverTrump Will Never Work.”

The author states: “But here’s the problem for Bush and Romney and the whole #NeverTrump thing generally: You don’t win campaigns solely by running against somebody else. You have to give voters something — or someone — that they can be for….Instead of shoring up a candidate they could enthusiastically be for, they continued to define themselves by the campaigns they were against, offering support only when it was already clear which way the voters were going….Trump has gotten to where he is by savaging the Republican establishment as expedient and craven — politicians willing to sacrifice any principle to preserve their own power. It’s amazing that Republican leaders seem so hell-bent on proving him right.” https://www.yahoo.com/politics/why-nevertrump-will-never-work-1392133276262454.html

 

In addition to the above article’s conclusion, the larger outcome is giving the White House to the Democrats – because you cannot resolve the intraparty fighting. If Trump isn’t the nominee and if he enters the convention with a plurality of delegates and leaves without the nomination, then my guess is that Trump either becomes a third party candidate or spends an exorbitant amount of time and money urging his supporters to never vote Republican again. Any of the outcomes are bad for the Republican Party – to the point a permanent schism could result which would take probably a decade to resolve.

 

Nate Silver, an articulate and accurate psephologist, predicts that the race will be very close for Trump to secure the necessary 1,237 delegates in the first round of voting. His actual prediction is 1,208; but he may be able to go over the top by securing the vote of the unbound and currently uncommitted delegates. http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/will-donald-trump-clinch-the-republican-nomination-before-the-convention/

 

Another great psephologist, Larry Sabato, thinks that Trump will (barely) reach the magic number of 1,237 (at 1,239): “If Trump finishes, say, less than 100 delegates short, but he is still comfortably leading national polls of Republicans and wins statewide victories in places like California and New Jersey on the final day of voting (June 7), it’s hard to see how, practically, he wouldn’t be the nominee. Trump would have far more delegates than his rivals, and he would also be heading into the pre-convention period with major statewide victories. Only if Trump finishes 100 or more delegates short does the contested convention become a more prominent possibility. As we’ve previously stressed, there are a small number of unpledged delegates as well as delegates from other candidates that Trump may or may not able to win over in the interim from June 7 through the opening of the convention on July 18.” http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/

 

“A new poll indicated 63 percent of Republicans think front-runner Donald Trump should get the party’s nomination if he wins the delegate race but falls short of the majority needed to clinch it outright….More than six in 10 voters opted for the plurality candidate over a brokered convention….” http://www.gopusa.com/?p=7690?omhide=true

 

Besides the electorate’s complete disgust with the establishment, there is a sense of restlessness in the air; it’s like the people know that there’s something different going on – but they can’t quite put their finger on it or articulate it: it’s Zeitgeist! There is a need to fill a vacuum that shouldn’t be there. So, with this discussion as a backdrop, let’s discuss why Trump is the right man for the job this election cycle.

 

To understand this I need to present some financial musings. I believe that the number one problem facing America today is the national debt. Currently at approximately $19 trillion (still rising and will be perhaps $23 trillion by 2021), the US government has unfunded liabilities in excess of $123 trillion ($210 trillion by some estimates and still rising). The national debt per person is over $59,000; the unfunded liabilities per person are over $381,000. http://usadebtclock.com/

 

“What's the word for our fiscal situation? Stunning? Shocking? Desperate? In recent testimony before the Senate Budget Committee, Boston University Economics Professor Laurence Kotlikoff, in effect, told the Committee that all of these terms are pathetically inadequate to describe our true fiscal situation. In compelling testimony, Kotlikoff argues that the federal fiscal situation is much worse than the CBO estimates let on. The reason is that CBO's debt estimates do not take into account the full financial obligations the government is committed to honor, especially for future payments of Social Security, Medicare, and interest on the debt. He asserts that the federal government should help the public understand the nation's true fiscal situation by using what economists call "the infinite-horizon fiscal gap," defined as the value of all projected future expenditures minus the value of all projected future receipts using a reasonable discount rate.

 

“What difference does the fiscal gap approach make in our understanding of the true federal debt? CBO tells us that the national debt was a little less than $13 trillion in 2014. But the fiscal gap in that year as calculated by Kotlikoff was $210 trillion, more than 16 times larger than the debt estimated by CBO and already judged, by CBO and many others, to be unsustainable. If a $13 billion gap is unsustainable, what term should we apply to a $210 trillion gap? Kotlikoff also calculates that the fiscal gap is equal to about 58 percent of the combined value of all future revenue. Thus, we would need to reduce spending or increase taxes by enough to fill that 58 percent gap if we wanted to put the federal budget on a path to solvency that balances the interests of those now receiving benefits and those who hope to receive benefits in the future.”

http://www.brookings.edu/research/opinions/2015/04/08-federal-debt-worse-than-you-think-haskins

 

Consider this horrifying point: mandatory versus discriminatory spending. “Sometime between 2030 and 2040 mandatory spending will exceed government revenues.” https://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_debt_of_the_United_States#/media/File:GAO_Slide.png. Another startling statistic is that the total debt as a percentage of GDP is 105%.

https://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_debt_of_the_United_States

 

Baby boomers are now retiring in large numbers. That means they will be exiting the workforce; so what? Instead of paying money to the government, they will be receiving money from the government. Instead of spending money, they will probably be saving money. The official unemployment rate is about 5%; the actual number of unemployed people (including long-term, discouraged workers) is about 23%.  http://www.shadowstats.com/alternate_data/unemployment-charts

I believe that we are at a nexus in history. This election will probably be one of the most important for at least the next two decades. The most obvious reason is because of the number of Supreme Court appointees; they will influence the judicial process and outcome for at least the next 2 to 3 decades. Another major issue is terrorism and why Americans do not feel safe. Political correctness – need I say more about how it is destroying our society and productivity? Immigration and its impact on not only the workforce but our economic status – pathetic. These and all of the other issues can be handled by Mr. Trump by the appointment of many of his learned associates. The reason Mr. Trump is the right man for the job is because the greatest task at hand is the financial survival of the USA. He possesses the mind – and has demonstrated time and time again – that he understands world markets, productivity, financing, leveraging – all things financial. I don’t understand how a socialist or progressive is even contending in this election – except the electorate doesn’t understand that there is no such thing as Mr. Sanders’ money tree or an inexhaustible supply of billionaires standing in line to pay taxes. Please: Excuse Mr. Trump’s foibles and support somebody who has the leadership skills and ability to bring America back to greatness!

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Donald G. Mutersbaugh, Sr. earned his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Maryland and his Master of Business Administration degree from Mary Washington College. He is the former Associate Administrator of Information Resources for the U.S House of Representatives under Speaker Newt Gingrich.

MANAGEMENT REVOLUTION

Published in http://washingtonexaminer.com/a-modest-proposal-to-abolish-11-federal-departments/article/2540473

Ideological battles over the budget have proven to be non-starters. To paraphrase an earlier political maxim – It’s the Management stupid!

Republicans must regain their credibility. They are opposing reasonable cuts to the bureaucratically bloated Defense Department while squandering political capital for ideological raids on microscopic programs. This may play well with their shrinking base, but it cripples their strategic return to governance.

The debacle of Obamacare’s rollout has even forced the President to blame “big agencies, some of which are outdated”. Here is where Republicans can pounce. The federal government is too large and too outdated. This is the Republicans traditional “sweet spot”. Debating the role of government is useful during campaigns, but the cost and effectiveness of government is useful now. Charting a course that cuts waste and inefficiency will prove Republicans can think and act like adults.

The key is that, no matter which federal programs Americans love or hate, no one wants even one penny wasted. Senator Tom Coburn, John Stossel, and others have published countless columns detailing specific opportunities to cut costs. Most importantly, these administrative cuts will not harm programs. Actually, cutting waste and streamlining operations will improve government services. Who can be against that?

Republicans need to focus. They need to return to a time when “Republican management” was not an Oxymoron.

Here are some examples:

[1] Cut overseas bases. Even George W. Bush wanted to close 300 of America’s nearly 1,000 overseas bases. Defense Department careerists outflanked him during his last year in office. It is time to revisit this plan. Bringing bases and military families back to U.S. soil while stimulate local economies and cut overall costs by hundreds of billions over ten years.

[2] Implement Inspector General Reports. Every year over 9,000 official reports are issued identifying $600+ billion a year in ongoing waste. Congress should conduct real oversight and force federal managers to actually address this waste.

[3] Implement a government-wide hiring freeze. Slamming the door shut on filling federal vacancies would cut $350 billion a year in personnel costs. Each agency head could submit waivers to OMB for those jobs they consider essential for agency missions. This list could be published in the Federal Register for public input before the waivers are granted.

[4] Get real about government overhead. It is time to abolish all Cabinet Departments except: Defense, Justice, State, and Treasury. This is not about eliminating programs – it is about eliminating countless layers of unproductive operations. Except for the four core Departments, every other of the eleven remaining Cabinet Departments are federations of programs and independent agencies. Each was formed under the obsolete assumption that everyone would work together in perfect harmony if only they had the same logo. These previously independent programs and agencies are already run by Presidential appointees. They will run better, and be more accountable, if returned to their prior independence.

Each of the eleven Cabinet Departments has amassed huge overhead budgets to conduct vast arrays of duplicative and dilatory actions. For example, the Office of Education needed $47.5 million a year to run its programs within the Department of Health Education and Welfare. Just one year after this office became its own Department overhead costs ballooned to $187 million. In 2011, Departmental overhead (not including program administration) was $1.7 billion! The Department of Education is one of the smaller Departments. Eliminating Departmental overheads from all eleven could net over $300 billion in savings over ten years.

These four proposals do not address the larger entitlement issues. They form the basis for bold and decisive actions that will win American hearts and minds across the political spectrum.

[Scot Faulkner served as Chief Administrative Officer of the U.S. House of Representatives http://citizenoversight.blogspot.com/ ]

RIGHTING THE SHIP OF STATE

Congress and the White House are stumbling toward a temporary deal to reopen the Federal Government and raise the national debt.

This temporary fix does not solve any of the fundamental problems with government spending, fiscal management, or health policy. All it does is pull everyone back from the brink and give them limited time to find common ground.

Washington’s spiral into chaos and crisis began years ago. It accelerated after the 2010 elections. The debris field includes not just both political parties. The faith Americans and the rest of the world have in the functionality of the Federal Government is severely damaged. It is going to take more than a “grand bargain” on the budget to repair that damage.

During the descent into madness, all combatants displayed their willingness to destroy the fundamental fabric of America’s civic culture in order to win rhetorical points during ever smaller news cycles. Politicians and pundits acted as though America was a parliamentary democracy, where a legislative defeat would bring down the government, force the resignation of public officials, and trigger new elections.

Our Founding Fathers intentionally designed America’s rules of engagement to avoid the “all or nothing” confrontations that shape British legislation. Fixed terms of office were supposed to force opponents to work together and govern instead of remain in a constant campaign. The U.S. Constitution’s brilliance and resilience stems from practicality, not idealism. That said, it is going to take an historic effort on everyone’s part to repair the damage and restore trust in our institutions of government.

Unfortunately, many involved in these recent political battles seem to want to permanently undermine these institutions of government. "We are looking for an Egyptian moment here! Enough tyranny...” trumpeted an organizer for the truckers’ protest that ended up being more bluster than reality. Other political voices are advocating continued unrest and chaos. Some now champion nullification (ignoring the rules) or a constitutional convention to completely change the rules.

During 226 years living in a Constitutional Republic, Americans have weathered terrible, corrupt, and incompetent Presidents, tolerated dysfunctional and “do nothing” Congresses, and have had to retry and overturn ill-conceived Supreme Court rulings. No matter how bad things got, Americans and their civic culture persevered without risking collapse (save for our Civil War).

It is therefore dismaying that things got so far out of hand during this recent confrontation. The level of righteous ignorance about government functions and processes, the uncivil and abusive accusations about opposing agendas, and the shrill demagogy have created a hole in the fabric of our system that will take time and creativity to repair. Record low levels of support and trust in our elected leaders and record high levels of dissatisfaction must be addressed.

One possible way to rebuild rational discourse and productive engagement is to experiment with crowd sourcing and facilitated discussion. Go to http://onlinetownhalls.com/start/90 to join in an online conservation to test out a new community engagement tool.

Online Townhalls is used by professional and business groups to aggregate opinion and facilitate consensus. In 2012, the Organization of American States (OAS) and the U.S. State Department used Online Townhalls to engage citizens in 35 nations using four languages to support the Summit of the Americas.

Here is a 7-minute video that explains how to use Online Townhalls.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LW2OLEM-qeE

Another way to learn about Online Townhalls is to follow a sample conversation based on the famous movie “Twelve Angry Men”. This tracks the jury’s consideration of trial evidence. http://onlinetownhalls.com/read/6

One online tool is only a very small step toward re-establishing sanity and decorum in our public processes. Just like after a wind storm, you start the recovery process by picking up the first downed branches. While chainsaws and a tree removal service may become part of the clean-up process, you have to start somewhere.

The recovery from our most recent political storm will take more than a few months. It will probably take years. We all must start somewhere. Your ideas are welcome! We must all pitch in. Perhaps trying out http://onlinetownhalls.com/start/90 is a good first step.

Why Not Crowd Source Federal Budget Policy?

Published in The Washington Examiner

http://washingtonexaminer.com/op-ed-why-not-crowd-source-federal-budget-policy/article/2526579

European and American politicians are in a quandary -- how can they cut spending while avoiding public outrage?

Austerity riots and strikes have become commonplace throughout Europe. In America, the arbitrarily heavy-handed spending cuts, known as the sequester, have reduced voter support for Congress to record lows.

Maybe it is time for governments to copy the private sector. For years, corporations have asked their customers what they want. Business websites and social media are filled with requests for customers to develop new flavors, new products and their own ads.

This digital customer empowerment is called "crowd-sourcing." Imagine if governments asked their voters what programs to cut and by how much?

Direct voter input into spending has existed since the voluntary check-off for funding America's presidential elections was added to income tax returns in the 1970s. What if this check-off procedure expanded into all discretionary spending?

In America, April 15 is Tax Day. Imagine if Tax Day also became Budget Day? The Internal Revenue Service would provide everyone with a budget form that listed all discretionary federal programs.

Each taxpayer would be given a hypothetical $100,000 to allocate for these programs. A pro-forma budget showing how the $100,000 was allocated for the prior fiscal year would provide both a template for taxpayer input and a major learning experience. Imagine if every taxpayer saw how the federal government really spent their money?

The budget forms would be submitted with their tax returns. In essence, there would be a nationwide vote on spending every April 15. Every taxpayer's choices would be totaled, and the percentages of the choices for each program would be applied to the actual federal budget moving through the Congress.

These spending priorities could be immediately binding or be advisory for the first few years. Either way, the Budget Day results would be a major news event. Even advisory choices would be revolutionary if the people's "crowd-sourced" decisions contradict the allocations proposed by Washington's power elite.

As the kinks are worked out, and people became savvier about how to allocate their $100,000, even the advisory referendum could evolve into mandating the spending priorities.

For example, require a two-thirds vote of both Houses of Congress to provide more or less funds than were allocated by the Budget Day results. National disaster assistance and declared wars could be exempted.

The April 15 Budget Day spending vote would become as important as Election Day. Tax preparation companies would develop "neutral" forms for people wanting to keep the same mix of spending each year.

Liberal and conservative interest groups would develop their own budgets for people to use. These would have the same impact as sample ballots. Taxpayers would be free to use them or do their own versions.

A similar process could be launched in European countries. A "budget day" would be created, and voter check-offs would be submitted.

Taxpayer budget choices will have immediate and fundamental impacts. In America, instead of spending their time swaying politicians, the special interests and federal agencies would have to persuade the 132 million people who file tax returns. Similar ripple effects would be felt in Europe as each nation implemented its own "crowd-sourced" budget processes.

Budget Day would open the door to building budgets that have widespread support -- because they would be democratically created. This process would also educate the electorate on the kinds of trade-offs and limitations being faced by politicians, opening eyes and minds to a common understanding and commitment to fiscal sanity.

Scot Faulkner is a former chief administrative officer for the U.S. House of Representatives. His blog is citizenoversight.blogspot.com.