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Few would disagree with the observation that Washington is dysfunctional. Much necessary legislation fails to be enacted and many federal agencies’ performance is below par. One of the main reasons is that the Republicans and Democrats have different perceptions about the size and role of government. The Republicans want a much smaller Federal government and are unwilling to raise taxes or increase revenues if that will lead to heightened government spending or more government employees. The Democrats want to elevate the government’s revenues in various ways, including higher taxes on the wealthy. This would result in increased government spending on infrastructure, health care, and so forth, and the size of the government would grow.
However, the role and size of the federal government should not be the focus of the conflict between the two parties. Whether it is bigger or smaller is not as important as whether it is efficient, and whether different government agencies perform their designated functions effectively without wasting money and manpower. Unfortunately, both the executive and legislative branches of the government appear to be incapable of accomplishing their assigned tasks. Part of the problem is the unwillingness of Congress to provide adequate funds for some federal agencies or for critical programs such as the repair and building of the nation’s infrastructure. (Often when money is allotted for programs it is done through gimmicks that increase the national debt rather than by increased federal revenue.)
The Congressional stalemate and inability of the House and Senate to pass legislation is a prime example of legislative inefficiency. Added to that is the unwillingness of individual legislators to allow cuts to favored programs, either for ideological reasons or because they provide jobs for their states or districts. One merely has to look at the conflicts that occurred over base closings when recommendations by special commissions were overridden by Congress. Or weapons programs that the military didn’t want but were provided for them never-the-less by the “military experts” in Congress.
And the role Congress is supposed to play in oversight of the executive branch has become mainly a political exercise, with a chance for one party to skewer the other. While House Republicans are particularly good at this, the Democrats play the same game when they have the opportunity. Thus, Congressional oversight has become useless in driving federal agencies to perform their tasks more efficiently and in a cost-effective manner. Congress also impacts the efficiency of the executive branch by refusing to confirm ambassadors for the state department and other officials in different federal departments.
Aside from lack of oversight and inaction from Congress, most federal agencies, which are supposedly under control of the executive branch, are far from efficient in executing their designated functions. If what they did was done cost-effectively and produced the proper results, perhaps there would not be so much conflict about their size and roles. Even the Government Accountability Office which is supposed to monitor the various agencies does not perform its job well.
The examples of federal agency failures are almost too numerous to list. Recently the VA and the IRS have come under scrutiny for their poor performance, and the Pentagon’s management of weapons procurement is a constant debacle. Cost overruns are almost automatic with the military. The National Security Agency mess with the release of information by Edward Snowden is another illustration of inefficiency, with spying on allies like Germany and Prime Minister Merkel (and getting caught). The Department of Justice’s inability to convict executives of the financial firms responsible for the sub-prime mortgage mayhem, and send them to prison also reeks of inefficiency and incompetence. And remember the DOJ and the Fast and Furious disaster? The CDC has also come under fire recently for its mistakes in handling highly infectious material. We could go on and on.
What it all comes down to is that we don’t need a smaller or larger sized government but one that functions efficiently. The executive branch, with the federal agencies under its aegis, and the legislative branch, responsible for oversight and appropriations, need to get their acts together and give American citizens the government they need and deserve, instead of endless bickering and attempts at political one-upsmanship. Any bets on whether it will happen?
Resurrecting Democracy
www.robertlevinebooks.com
Posted at 06:59 AM in Business, Congress, Congressional ethics, Current Affairs
Political junkie, Vietnam vet, neurologist- three books on aging and dementia. Book on health care reform in 2009- Shock Therapy for the American Health Care System. Book on the need for a centrist third party- Resurrecting Democracy- A Citizen’s Call for a Centrist Third Party published in 2011. Aging Wisely, published in August 2014 by Rowman and Littlefield. Latest book- The Uninformed Voter published May 2020