Sorry, next time I will says it is my opinion that the previous presidents didn't do this to this level. Most people would assume that is implied.
Legal challenges to Trump funding freezes--will the elimination of Chevron deference limit Trump's goal?
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You mean to say that it's a guess -- not an opinion. Because whether or not they actually did would be a matter of fact, not a matter of opinion.
Anyway....carry on.
I’ve always valued efficiency and effectiveness over just making government smaller. Sometimes they go hand in hand. Other times increasing headcount of raising salaries to attract top level talent is necessary to provide top level service. That should be the goal.
I don’t know that anyone has claimed that this is all that is needed. More likely it is low hanging fruit that can yield immediate dividends. If they only save billions, so be it. It’s not either or relative to entitlements…
Low hanging fruit is another way to say distraction. Makes it look like they are doing something when they really aren't, because, as crazed is fond of reminding us, tackling this issue will require difficult choices no one wants to be responsible for.
That’s not what low-hanging fruit means. If they save money, they are doing something, & time will tell. One thing is for certain, no matter the results you’ll claim the actions that led to them were ineffective.
I can’t honestly say I’ve ever gotten something I’d call “top level service” from any public entity.
I was glad when Indiana’s BMV made it possible to do a lot of things online. I hate having to go to a physical license branch to accomplish a simple task. So I’ll give them that. But headcount wasn’t a factor - just a common sense use of modern technology did the trick.
But anybody who thinks the typical government agency provides efficient service should try buying, licensing, and operating a tractor-trailer for a year or two. They’ll be disabused of that nonsense very quickly.
I’d say it’s difficult choices no one will (ever) be willing to be responsible for.
But I hope I’m wrong about that.
Here's a small sampling of why he's doing it:
'Equity and Environmental Justice,' 'LGBTQI+ Inclusive Development Policy,' and 'Latinx Politics': Inside the Battle Between Political and Career Staffers at the State Department and USAID
When the Trump administration implemented a 90-day freeze of foreign aid aimed at ensuring the funding is "consistent with U.S. foreign policy under the America First agenda," Secretary of State Marco Rubio allowed career staffers to submit waivers for projects they felt were aligned with that...freebeacon.com
Multiple that crap by every agency out there and you can see why they want to get a handle on this sh-t... A few million here and there can add up to real money... It's basically Monopoly money to these career staffers...
Don’t know if it’s true or not.
It looks like they receive over 3 billion in grants.
Indiana is a model of efficiency, compared to North Carolina. NC's BMV is stuck in the 50s. Go one place for a driver's license, another for registration, etc. Long lines in crappy strip malls. Appointments are required and scheduled at least a month in advance. It's a horror show.
People are going to dye because of Trump. Anyone with have a brain cannot read this and think otherwise.
Once this happens and all of the "goods" are divided between the 50 states, all we have to do is watch which states that Brandy Whine Garden and her ilk flock to to know who the most corrupt are. This is gonna be epic and pay per view level drama! We really should have Dana White run this MF'r! It'll pay off the national debit !
I'm curious what the Dept. of Education does that so many folks find so objectionable. I don't mean what they imagine they do. I mean what they actually do.
Promulgate education policy and curriculum with purse strings attached, stand in the way of school choice and support public sector unions.
What are the outlays and what are we receiving with those outlays?
I was under the impression they mostly give out grants that help schools and fund research that helps further pedagogy. I don't have the time to really dig deep right now. Something more important starts in about five minutes.
What is the funding mechanism behind those grants Joe?
Is it the tax payer?
What is the criteria for “earning” a grant?
You’re telling me I’m paying tax dollars for grants to schools based on criteria I likely don’t agree with and no one ever voted for?
What happens if I don’t pay? Men with guns show up and put me in a cage?
Talk about evil…
There we go again, falling into yet another conspiracy theory.
Amiright? We need someone to teach us the better ways of thinking.
The WC version of the IC. Doesn't matter, I was wrong. Didn't realize we cancelled.
Kind of like voucher money going to rich parents to send their kids to a religious private school I may not agree with?
Well, Donny signed an EO Wednesday to give federal money to fund vouchers at private schools.
I could agree with that. From what I understand, Title One money comes with a shitload of strings attached. Public schools should never have opened that Pandora's Box.
If parents aren't reading with their kids at home by the time they go to school, they are way behind the 8 ball.
They’re a lot of parents that don’t have time to read to their kids! Teachers need to start doing their jobs.
If parents can't find 10 minutes to read to their kids a day, then they are probably not raising their kids in the first place.
Lets start with why that is happening then.
OK, but making it smaller won’t necessarily fix that.
No, but it’s a good reason for them to stay in their lane instead of clogging up every lane. The more things they do, the less focused they’re going to be on the things that they have to do and get right.
There’s been a debate going on about whether the FAA was sufficiently funded…such that they didn’t have air traffic controllers. I can only shake my head at that thought process and its premises.
ATC is something that government clearly needs to do. Funding shouldn’t be an issue for it. But it is an issue, because our government is broke. What they should be doing to remedy this is not skimping on air traffic controllers. They should be shutting down things the government has no business touching to free up all the resources for it to do what it must do and do well. And they should be reforming the entitlement programs that are bankrupting us.
Surprised to hear you say this. I thought the common libertarian position was that a privatized ATC network would do better for cheaper.
Well, it may be a common libertarian position, but it's not mine. As far as libertarians go, I'm not very doctrinaire. I don't even apply that label to myself. I'll say that I have libertarian tendencies, or libertarianish. But no more than that. Too many things where I'm in a different place.
I think the roles the FAA plays, by and large, belong in the hands of government. Same with the NTSB -- although I'd imagine that there's some duplication there that could be eliminated. Of course, the NTSB deals with more than just aviation-related incidents.
I hate to sound like one of those "DEI! DEI!" guys. But, to me, that serves as a good example of something that costs us money for no discernible value at all. And the more resources we devote to unimportant things, the more we divert from important things.
I can say bc of my horrible personal life my minion has been in school since he was just before 2. That’s hard stuff. But he is way ahead of my daughter who was home during those years. My minion can carry a conversation. Has a huge vocabulary. And he’s not even 4. Pluses and minuses I guess
Also...another good opportunity to quote My Man Mitch:
We believe it wrong ever to take a dollar from a free citizen without a very necessary public purpose, because each such taking diminishes the freedom to spend that dollar as its owner would prefer. When we do find it necessary, we feel a profound duty to use that dollar as carefully and effectively as possible, else we should never have taken it at all.
I don't know if it qualifies me as a libertarian or not, but I think this is an almost perfect way of describing my general philosophy in this area.
