Less Federal Waste

Currently DOGE has been a distraction so Trump may consolidate power.  However these destructive measures must be prepared for so we may restore improved governance.

Creating a more efficient government requires profound scrutiny.  Also understanding the unattended consequences of such reforms is critical. For example, privatizing certain government services without proper management greatly impacts future taxpayers.

The critical question is there is a firewall between how the government is both a market participant and also a regulator. There needs to be third party transparency whenever a regulator becomes a market participant. Wearing both hats at once can become a serious conflict of interest. Like privatizing Social Security without good oversight will escalate fraud.

Also the very roots of waste and fraud point to our various corporate welfare tax structures and flawed ways of budgeting. Bottom line long term investment is discouraged. There is this seriously unjust economic incentive to save.

From my years, championing used oil recycling or even looking at landfill financial assurance requirements, we must focus on design (https://www.waste360.com/waste-recycling/confessions-of-a-recovering-recycler). 

Emulating the solid waste hierarchy, which we have yet to do we must follow the 3 R's- Reducing, Reusing and Recycling. Also we must explore both life cycle analysis and full accounting to best manage our resources.

If we created greater commerce out of being more conserving it would be a win/ win for the U.S.

The indirect costs and unattended consequences of letting go of hundreds of thousands of federal workers will have long term repercussions, not just in governance, but in the goods and services, so valuable to our economy.

Presently, Trump and Musk’s claims of lessening waste and fraud thus far only saving $2.5 billion dollars. While Musk’s companies get $38 billion dollars in subsidies.

Unfortunately illegally firing 20 Inspector Generals (https://youtu.be/GupyEudjdNw?si=POLzYmqdFAHBRfqi

who have saved hundreds of billions of dollars) is counterproductive to government efficiency.

Putting U.S. A.I.D into the wood chipper has wasted tens of millions of dollars in discarding vaccines, water and other things cutting forty percent of the World’s humanitarian aid. Besides indirectly killing hundreds of thousands of people, this impacts our farmers, and friends.

The cost of indiscriminately cutting all federal programs without any discretions will have huge unintended fiscal impacts. This will damage our economy and destroy future prosperity.

Growing up in Washington DC, as a pollution prevention expert I  have witnessed “Use it or Lose It.” This is a common wasteful budgetary policy of ending not mending.

Now the Feds may model how “consumers” transform into “conservator demonstrating best management programs.

Just examine America’s health care system in the last few years where trillions of dollars were lost due to excess and inefficiency (estimated at one-third to half wasted). 

Now 78 million Americans are in jeopardy of losing their Medicaid for continued tax cuts for the rich.

Trump is increasing government waste. Investing in more effective Federal management would lessen our debt with both preventative and proactive measures. However, DOGE is going in the opposite direction.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The PRO Zone

I was just at the US Open as their guest. My mentor, Pauline Betz Addie, was inducted in their Court of Champions, winning four times in the 1940s.  In walking around several mindless cell phone users nearly collided with me. When I realize I am mindless, I celebrate the gift of the now, also called the present. Playing tennis has been a form of meditation for me. I call  the “PRO Zone " The acronym PRO- Pause, Relax and Open helps my game — arriving fully to play tennis. By relaxing in the present, I allow the distracting “mental” weather systems to pass. This allows me to greet each new point. Increasing my concentration, I give my fullest intention to pay attention.  When I “pause” between points and slow down-- becoming more responsive and less reactive increases my concentration during play. Next, getting myself to “relax” and focusing on mentally showing up can both lessen my errors and my anxiety  My introduction to mindful tennis first began when I asked my f...
Read more

Celebrate Starshine

The shortest day is upon us. This is an opportunity to celebrate the most startime.  I embrace this starlight to light my inner candle. Dance under the Milky Way, allowing the trillions of lights filtering into the trillions of cells within you.   We are all children of the stars! It is a quantum pool of loving kindness. 93% of the mass in our body is stardust originating from giant red stars by the Big Bang 5 billion years ago. We share 97% of the same atoms. All the basic elements of life, oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, calcium, and iron, were created before the earth. We share from these red giant stars more of this stardust than the asteroids or the planet Mars, All living and nonliving things on Earth, from water, crystals, rocks, stones,plants, animals, insects, birds, fish consists, of this stardust The First People are and were mystical stars watchers. These heavens are the homes of ancestors, animals, plants, and spirits.    Stargazing allows me to play with the ...
Read more

Green Spaces Provide Great Economic Potential

This is a guest column thanks to Jack Lundee - "Taking a more progressive green approach." Some of the more heavily discussed topics of early 2010 include obesity, green infrastructure, clean water, and more. In particular, the addition and/or substitution of green spaces have been quite controversial as of late. Senior resident of Urban Land Institute Ed T. McMahon states "Green space adds value to property." Not only would these areas of conservation drive economic trends upward, but they also improve the overall health of the surrounding community. For example, substituting things like golf courses with conservation areas would essentially increase surrounding property value while diminishing overpriced maintenance fees. The same holds true for airports and other large acre-eating developments. Some of these areas are already abandoned or unkempt. For instance, park and recreational areas that were once highly visited have become urban wastelands. In an articl...
Read more