The Great Government Spending Spree, and the Greater Lack of Results

Mr. Obama has spent astronomical sums since assuming office, yet we seem no better off. Part of the blame falls on his economic advisors, who have yet to receive the news that Keynesian, or Neo-Keynesian economics, died a long time ago. This is also known as the "Spend Yourself Rich" approach to economics. A lot of blame also falls on Mr. Obama, however, for not having the common sense to realize that you cannot spend yourself rich. When Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister of England she faced a similar problem. Rather than spend and spend, and raise taxes, she cut spending and lowered taxes. Soon all was well. Ronald Reagan (the dumbest president ever) had the same problem, did the same thing, and got the same results. Has Obama learned anything from this? Not a single thing.

However, the problem of spending huge sums without reaching the objective has haunted us for a long time. In fact, the seeds of this problem were sown way back in 1913 with the implementation of the Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution. Up to that time the only source of funds for the federal government was the import tax. After taking care of fundamental needs this did not produce enough money to go on the Great Government Spending Spree. But the Sixteenth Amendment provided for a national income tax, and the money started flowing in (and out).

It may not have been apparent at the time, but this also greatly changed the role of Senators and Congressmen. Up to 1913, the job of legislators was to legislate, passing laws intended to solve problems facing the public. It wasn't a very glorious job, but Congress did the best it could with a very limited budget. It took a little time (but not really all that much) for the new reality to sink in. Of course Congress had always spent money, but there wasn't enough money to make spending a full time job. But the new reality sunk in. Now the PRIMARY job of congressmen and senators became spending money. Vast sums of it. But the money spent had to go to one's own district or state in order for the voters to realize the great benefit their legislators were bestowing on them. But the spending in return for votes couldn't be too blatant. So the country's selfless leaders devised a system.

Fast forward to the present to observe how this ingenious system allows congress to spend vast sums on meritorious causes without seeming to funnel huge sums into "pork" projects for their own voters.

Like all the best stories this one is true, but certain changes have been made to protect the guilty. A major river flooded and caused substantial damage to two Midwestern states. A politician's dream world consists of natural disasters because no one can object to spending for "disaster relief." It's almost like winning a gigantic state lottery. Congress passed "The Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Bill for Flood Relief." Nobody likes to read a laundry list of items but it is necessary in this case to get a full sense of the "emergency measures" regulated, mandated, or funded by this legislation. Keep in mind that this bill stemmed from the natural disaster in the Midwest.

Handling marine mammals trapped in fishing equipment.
The "peacekeeping" effort in Bosnia.
Loans and grants for the College Station area of Pulaskki County, Arkansas.
Collection and dissemination of statistics on cheese manufacturing in the United States.
Countering terrorism at the Winter Olympics games.
Foreign aid for Ukraine.
Repairs of concession facilities at Yosemite National Park.
Importation of polar bear parts from Canada.
"For payment to Marissa, Sonya, and Frank (III) Tejeda."
Raising the limits on highway grants by $694 million.
Fixing an error in the Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. (Which mistakenly appropriated $661 million instead of $661 thousand).
Reimbursing the state of Colorado and the City and County of Denver for security arrangements at the Denver Summit of Eight.
$16 million for a counter-terrorist Automated Targeting System.
Construction of a courthouse in Montgomery, Alabama.
An extra $928 million for the Department of Veterans Affairs.
$500,000 for a parking garage and $500,000 to restore the Paramount Theater in Ashland, Kentucky.
A new National Commission on the Cost of Higher Education.
Exceptions to the Truth in Lending Act and the Endangered Species Act.
Food stamps for people otherwise made ineligible by the latest welfare reform act.
Handling appropriations if there's another government shutdown.
Prohibition on funding national reading and mathematics testing for school children.
Transferring $2 million from FEMA to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
$2 million for the establishment of a Law Enforcement Commission.
Leasing a Building in Lexington, Kentucky.
Prohibition on spending funds to study the medicinal use of marijuana.

POP QUIZ: How much money went to the Midwestern states for flood disaster relief?

I didn't make this up. It is not a joke. I wish it were.

My plan for bringing some sanity to government. Amend the Constitution to eliminate the Senate and House of Representatives. Replace them with experienced public relations personnel to interface with the public to forward requests, questions, complaints, and suggestions for improving government performance to the newly created Professional Government Management Center. These public relations officials would not be elected positions but senior career government officials who would serve so long as their performance was exemplary. They would be paid in line with compensation in the private sector for equivalent positions. Union membership would be prohibited.

Create a secretly located Professional Government Management Center well away from Washington, with no access to the public or uninvited government or military officials. This Center would be staffed by highly experienced senior management professionals from the private sector. In addition to responsible management experience these people would have at a minimum a Master of Business Administration, Master of Public Administration, or equivalent. Progress toward earning a doctoral degree in an appropriate field would be highly encouraged and financed. Based largely on information passed on by the public contact personnel, these senior managers would identify areas requiring funding, prepare budgets, authorize rational spending, analyze the actual need for government agencies and eliminate all but the most essential operations. In short, these senior officials would perform all of the natural and necessary duties experienced by giant civilian corporations, and be paid accordingly. These would be respected career positions with appropriate job security and pay as long as performance remained exemplary. The Center would be organized along the lines of any major corporation with leaders chosen on the basis of experience and performance. Extremely strict procedures would guarantee anonymity of these managers, and all relations with the press, and other divisions of government would be handled by seasoned professionals at a location far removed from the center. All positions in the public contact function and the PGMC would be strictly non-political, as would staffing decisions. All personnel would be encouraged to refrain from party membership, participation, or contact.

The Presidency and all related hangers on would be eliminated. Relations with the public and foreign nations would be handled in a manner specified by the PGMC. The Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces would be the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff as decided by that body. All promotions, assignments, and military policy would be handled by the military itself following expectations and guidelines from the PGMC.

This is only a first cut. Obviously, important matters have been neglected. Constructive thinking on this matter would obviously be of great value to the Republic. The guiding spirit is to eliminate as far as possible political and public influence on the key policy makers and spending managers. By no means should this be considered as a form of group dictatorship. It is, instead, an attempt to sequester decision makers from any outside pressure so that decisions can be made in a purely professional manner free from influence from any political agendas not beneficial to the country as a whole. The only certainty is that the Republic cannot continue along courses determined by politicians or special interest groups.

Adapted from The Great Libertarian Offer by Harry Browne, Former Libertarian Party Candidate for President.