This Is What To Do About Big Government Spending

Someone from the GOP said the other day about the possibility of repealing health care if the Democrats manage to pass the Obamacare bill, "it is very difficult to repeal a program once it has been passed by Congress." Well, government programs are the excuse that Congress uses to spend our tax dollars. Then they tell you the "it is hard to repeal a program once passed."

If You have too many things and Your salary gets cut, You have to make hard decisions and get rid of stuff. So should the government. It's time for the government to stop accumulating old worn out programs, and to start cleaning out their attic!

It seems to me that sort of thinking expressed by this Congressman is what got us into this mess in the first place. What is the problem with repealing a program once passed? Congress has the power to create federal programs, and they have the power to cancel them. If We the People want to see smaller government it is up to Congress to make it smaller. All Congress has to do is the right. But Congress always blames their inability to do what's right on someone else, a special interest group, a lobbyist, or similar lame excuse. Well, we didn't elect the lobbyist or special interest group, we elected Congress and we can un-elect them.

I suggest starting big and working down the line; one step at a time. I suggest eliminating the following programs first, then move on to others:

1. Department of Education: Created by Jimmy Carter in October 1979. Many in the Republican Party opposed the legislation creating the Department of Education as being unconstitutional http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Education Here is what the Department says of it's mission http://www2.ed.gov/about/what-we-do.html It seems the Republicans were right, but did little to challenge the constitutionality of the new law, or to repeal the legislation when they had the chance. An ominous sign for Health Care if passed.
2. Department of Energy: Created by Jimmy Carter in 1977. The DOE's predecessor was the Atomic Energy Commission. The AEC was responsible for the military nuclear weapons production complex. Now the DOE is responsible for a myriad of energy development and environmental clean up projects. The DOE has largely been a complete failure, especially if evaluated on the 'return on investment' criteria. Eliminating the DOE would save the taxpayers billions of dollars. The military weapons complex, such as it is, is now managed by the National Nuclear Security Administration, an independent agency within the DOE.
3. Environmental Protection Agency: Created in 1970 by Richard Nixon. The EPA employs over 17,000 government employees http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Environmental_Protection_Agency The EPA is that big government agency who implements sweeping regulations like Carbon Dioxide if a pollutant when Congress won't pass legislation. If for no other reason, the EPA needs to be downsized significantly to simply reduce its power. But, also consider every state has its own environmental agencies now, and most have a better understanding of their states environmental needs than the EPA. The EPA has turned over a lot of authority via 'reciprocity' over the years to the states, consequently the need for a federal agency is significantly less than when the EPA was created. Yet, the EPA has grown larger and larger over the years, and their power has grown to the point of rivaling that of Congress.
4. I suggest that the Veterans Administration should be cut significantly. I'm not proposing abandoning our veterans, I'm suggesting giving them better health care via the private sector hospitals and private physicians. Many are already referred to private sector health care. An effective private health care program could save money, provide better health care, and save lives of veterans.
5. U. S. Postal Service: Is no longer competitive and is totally run by unions who overly protect non-productive employees. Private companies like UPS, Fed Ex, and the Internet can provide services now provided by the USPS without using taxpayer dollars.
6. The Internal Revenue Service: A 'Flat Tax' would significantly reduce the size of the IRS and save millions in tax dollars.

It's time for Congress to start undoing the mess they created. They need to identify all of the federal programs they have started and eliminate, cut back, and restructure them. This should be their highest priority to cut spending, pay down the national debt, and restore the economy.

Now, as far as that GOP guy who said it's hard to repeal programs once they have started I suggest that's why they get paid the big bucks. The GOP has a few options once they regain the majority:

1. They can vote to repeal the legislation out right, or they can amend legislation to downsize the programs and agencies created to manage the programs. Either would be acceptable.
2. Or, they can simply not fund the agencies execuiting the programs. Defunding these agencies effectively kills the program, and saves the taxpayer lots of money.

Now, why might Congress do either of these options? Not because 'We The People' don't want them to, but because they forgot who elected them. They might not want to kill these or any programs because of Special Interest, who by the way DID NOT ELECT THEM TO OFFICE!

Send a clear message to Congress that 'We The People' want them to cut spending by cutting programs and agencies to the bone. NO EXCUSES!