I was on News Nation last night with my friend Leland Vittert. The format of his show is great. Rarely are there talking heads yelling at each other. It often is one-on-one with Leland as both interviewer and devil’s advocate pushing partisans on their points. It makes for good and insightful dialogue.
If Congress passed a law instituting a birthday party for someone on a specific day of a single year, the agency created to do the party would exist a century later! Nothing dies in the bureaucracy! A BRAC type commission is a great idea, if they were given autonomy from Congress and the Executive branch. We don't need most of these agencies. The Canadians created a separate system for their Air Traffic Control and it stayed up when they had NOTAM problems. The EU has Eurocontrol. Both use state of the art technology. The biggest headache in Europe is the patchwork of autonomous states that require you to get their approval to fly in their airspace. The US would not have that issue. Let's do this!
I agree with the general assumptions of Erick's piece, and most of the comments. But the fatal flaw of bureaucracies is that their first order of business is to preserve the bureaucracy. If you definitively identify a problem, then you have to create solutions and execute. Therein lies the accountability others have mentioned, and they will avoid that at any cost.
It is time to demand accountable for our whole nation. The 3 letter agency's of our federal government. Accountability of our news papers the 4th estate. The folks we elect to the Presidency to the dog catcher.
John Adams is quoited as saying,"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is
wholly in adequate to the government of any other. How many times did God call the Children of Israel to repentance. If we honer God He will honer us. Dan
Long past time, Erick. Sports franchises, other businesses, etc., reset all the time. Particularly when performance is poor for an extended period. As members of the board of directors of the US, we have the right to demand change. I demand it now! Who else is a yay?
Split up the 4th branch (the unelected bureacracy) so that it's various functions are aligned with the 3 constitutional branches.
The rule makers become an advisory body for Congress, but congress makes and votes on the laws/rules suggested to congress by the advisory groups from the bureaucracy.
Remove the judicial part of the bureaucracy. If you break a law then the judiciary can handle your case instead of a bureaucratic court.
The enforcers, inspectors, etc can stay with the executive and be focused on quality control and operational concerns.
My wife works for the GAO (Government Accountability Office) which, apparently, is not an oxymoron. When the FAA thing happened yesterday she said they needed more money to update systems. I said the government has plenty of money, they just don’t spend it in the right places. I think, for the first time, she agreed with me on that. I think I read one time that of all the recommendations the GAO makes on how to make government programs/bureaucracy more efficient, more than 80% of the recommendations never get implemented. Some accountability.
I tracked this up until 2014 or 15, but the Inspector General of the IRS for YEARS traveled to Congress every year to inform members of abuse of the Earned Income Child Tax Credit. Illegals were getting tax "refunds" of as much as $15K by claiming up to twelve (12) children, most of whom still lived in Mexico. Total fraud was in the billions of dollars, yet nobody in Congress would touch it because neither party wanted to ostracize the Latino vote. Another example of "accountability."
Erick, I'm late getting to this old post, but I want to ask, why doesn't someone in government push forward with something like this BRAC Commission?
Amen, Brother!!
If Congress passed a law instituting a birthday party for someone on a specific day of a single year, the agency created to do the party would exist a century later! Nothing dies in the bureaucracy! A BRAC type commission is a great idea, if they were given autonomy from Congress and the Executive branch. We don't need most of these agencies. The Canadians created a separate system for their Air Traffic Control and it stayed up when they had NOTAM problems. The EU has Eurocontrol. Both use state of the art technology. The biggest headache in Europe is the patchwork of autonomous states that require you to get their approval to fly in their airspace. The US would not have that issue. Let's do this!
I agree with the general assumptions of Erick's piece, and most of the comments. But the fatal flaw of bureaucracies is that their first order of business is to preserve the bureaucracy. If you definitively identify a problem, then you have to create solutions and execute. Therein lies the accountability others have mentioned, and they will avoid that at any cost.
You are absolutely correct!
@Erick Please read The Authoritarians by constitutional attorney Jonathan Emord. He would be a great person to have on your show!
As a retired federal bureaucrat I could not agree more. I can only speak from a DoD perspective, but a federal- wide BRAC sounds like a great idea.
I have news nation but rarely check it. Thanks for this.
It is time to demand accountable for our whole nation. The 3 letter agency's of our federal government. Accountability of our news papers the 4th estate. The folks we elect to the Presidency to the dog catcher.
John Adams is quoited as saying,"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is
wholly in adequate to the government of any other. How many times did God call the Children of Israel to repentance. If we honer God He will honer us. Dan
Absolutely. Where’s Ronald Reagan when you need him?
Best single word you used...Accountability. There has been none forever.
Long past time, Erick. Sports franchises, other businesses, etc., reset all the time. Particularly when performance is poor for an extended period. As members of the board of directors of the US, we have the right to demand change. I demand it now! Who else is a yay?
Just do it.
Entropy is increasing
Let’s make it happen.
Split up the 4th branch (the unelected bureacracy) so that it's various functions are aligned with the 3 constitutional branches.
The rule makers become an advisory body for Congress, but congress makes and votes on the laws/rules suggested to congress by the advisory groups from the bureaucracy.
Remove the judicial part of the bureaucracy. If you break a law then the judiciary can handle your case instead of a bureaucratic court.
The enforcers, inspectors, etc can stay with the executive and be focused on quality control and operational concerns.
My wife works for the GAO (Government Accountability Office) which, apparently, is not an oxymoron. When the FAA thing happened yesterday she said they needed more money to update systems. I said the government has plenty of money, they just don’t spend it in the right places. I think, for the first time, she agreed with me on that. I think I read one time that of all the recommendations the GAO makes on how to make government programs/bureaucracy more efficient, more than 80% of the recommendations never get implemented. Some accountability.
I tracked this up until 2014 or 15, but the Inspector General of the IRS for YEARS traveled to Congress every year to inform members of abuse of the Earned Income Child Tax Credit. Illegals were getting tax "refunds" of as much as $15K by claiming up to twelve (12) children, most of whom still lived in Mexico. Total fraud was in the billions of dollars, yet nobody in Congress would touch it because neither party wanted to ostracize the Latino vote. Another example of "accountability."