What Government Agencies Should be Shut Down?

[Jarlaxle]

Everything. Fire up the chainsaws and cut EVERYTHING. Slash 25% across the board on all non-military spending, 50% on all military spending to start. Keep hacking from there. The money simply isn't there.

 

[Samson]

Everything. Fire up the chainsaws and cut EVERYTHING. Slash 25% across the board on all non-military spending, 50% on all military spending to start. Keep hacking from there. The money simply isn't there.

"Money" is there as long as we (and, much more importantly, the Chinese) believe it is there.

Do you know any Chinese that are finding more secure investment opportunities than US bonds?

 

[Iceweasel]

Eliminate them all except defense and reinstate what can't be handled by states. The experiment has proven once again that central planning is bloated, wasteful and grows exponentially. We will soon be like Europe with states only being regions with little say so in how they are run.

 

[Publius1787]

When posting about possible 2014 election results I found myself wondering where I was on the political spectrum. One of my main beliefs is that government is too big and has many duplicated and unneeded entities. So, I asked myself the above question and did some Google Searches.

GAO Report 2013 Actions Needed to Reduce Fragmentation, Overlap, and Duplication and Achieve Other Financial Benefits @ U.S. GAO - 2013 Annual Report Actions Needed to Reduce Fragmentation, Overlap, and Duplication and Achieve Other Financial Benefits which comes up with 32 recommendations – clearly ignored by Congress.

Wasteful Government Spending: Duplicate Programs Squander Billions @ Wasteful Government Spending: Duplicate Programs Squander BillionsMoney Morning - Only the News You Can Profit From

50 Examples of Government Waste @ 50 Examples of Government Waste

And then, there's the maze of federal agencies as listed @ List of United States federal agencies - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia run down the massive list and check it out for yourselves.

My own personal wish list beside closing Education is a streamlining of DOD. Combine all services into one entity under one command structure. Eliminate thousands of star positions and their staff and make the whole thing more responsive.

What? I can't pick more than one?

 

[BillyZane]

When posting about possible 2014 election results I found myself wondering where I was on the political spectrum. One of my main beliefs is that government is too big and has many duplicated and unneeded entities. So, I asked myself the above question and did some Google Searches.

GAO Report 2013 Actions Needed to Reduce Fragmentation, Overlap, and Duplication and Achieve Other Financial Benefits @ U.S. GAO - 2013 Annual Report Actions Needed to Reduce Fragmentation, Overlap, and Duplication and Achieve Other Financial Benefits which comes up with 32 recommendations – clearly ignored by Congress.

Wasteful Government Spending: Duplicate Programs Squander Billions @ Wasteful Government Spending: Duplicate Programs Squander BillionsMoney Morning - Only the News You Can Profit From

50 Examples of Government Waste @ 50 Examples of Government Waste

And then, there's the maze of federal agencies as listed @ List of United States federal agencies - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia run down the massive list and check it out for yourselves.

My own personal wish list beside closing Education is a streamlining of DOD. Combine all services into one entity under one command structure. Eliminate thousands of star positions and their staff and make the whole thing more responsive.

Congress

/thread

 

[Lonestar_logic]

All of them.

 

[Shrimpbox]

Here is the perfect example are why repubs are insanely stupid. Adopt half of Jackson's post. Adopt senator Coburns 300 billion in cuts. The road maps are all there but repubs can't bring themselves to do the right thing including cutting things in their own districts. Until they can show the courage of their own convictions the voters won't show their bravery either.

 

[Steven_R]

Right off the top of my head, I'd eliminate the Department of Energy, Education, HUD, and Homeland Security. I'd roll the VA into HHS, combine Labor, Commerce, Interior, Transport and Agriculture into one department and then start going agency by agency through the surviving departments.

EDIT: There are something like 120 federal law enforcement agencies, each with their own administrative overheads. I'd winnow it down to the Coast Guard, Customs/Border Patrol/INS/DEA as one agency, FBI for investigating crimes, US Marshals for arresting, combine the Capitol Police and Secret Service. Regulatory agencies can contact one of the above as necessary for law enforcement.

 

[william the wie]

Either do it like base closures or move the capital 25% closer to the nation's center of population better yet both. Do so every 20 years. Let every two or more state location bid on getting the beltway bandits, lobbyists, hookers and bureaucrats. Then update the hardware and software to reduce the number of bureaucrats. This would open the whole country's eyes to the corruption not to mention moving the center of population.

The expense while great is not too much when you figure the Beltway bandits alone will shoulder more than half of the cost of the move and every agency, department, useless program and whatnot eliminated is one less that will need to be eliminated the next time around.

 

[JenT]

ONLY ONE CHOICE In the poll?

 

[TakeAStepBack]

At this point all of them.

 

[william the wie]

At this point all of them.

I'm not sure closing federal prisons, deportation courts and the logistics needed to get our troops out of the imperial outposts is a good idea.

 

[TakeAStepBack]

At this point all of them.

I'm not sure closing federal prisons, deportation courts and the logistics needed to get our troops out of the imperial outposts is a good idea.

Point taken. Though a controlled removal of them all would alleviate such rifts.

 

[jasonnfree]

The Senate and House of Representatives. Let's make Presidents kings and see how that works. Current system doesn't so not like it could get any worse. Make the American king a 4 year office with option for 4 more. Keep elections and all that, but skip the middle man of Congress and let the king make all the decisions.

If you want to skip the middle man then just let the corporations run for office now that they're people.

 

[william the wie]

At this point all of them.

I'm not sure closing federal prisons, deportation courts and the logistics needed to get our troops out of the imperial outposts is a good idea.

Point taken. Though a controlled removal of them all would alleviate such rifts.

That sounds a lot better.