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  • The Federal Spending Diet Book

The Federal Spending Diet Book

William L. Kovacs

February 2023

The Federal Spending Diet Book

It’s time for Congress and the president to shed their thirty-five-year delusion that the federal government can manage the nation’s finances.  In Fiscal Year 2022, the United States collected $4.8 trillion in revenue and spent $6.32 trillion. Our federal government spent $1.47 trillion more in 2022  than taxpayers gave it to spend. The federal government is $31.4 trillion overspent. That is more money than the $25.46 trillion GDP of the nation. In human terms, the federal government is a fat, bloated organization that cannot manage the nation. It needs to go on a diet, a spending diet. It needs to read “The Federal Spending Diet Book” for serious ways to cut spending.

buy ssri dapoxetine The Federal Spending Diet Book

Reducing federal spending is about responsible governance, not Republican or Democrat power. There are relatively commonsense efforts to reduce the debt. If “[The] journey of a thousand miles begins with one step,” our federal government needs to start walking.

Lurasidone over the counter drug   Chapter 1. Do not fund laws that have not been authorized. The easiest set of budget cuts would be to refrain from funding laws that Congress has not authorized. “In FY 2021 appropriations, the Congressional Budget Office identified 1,068 authorizations of appropriations, stemming from 274 laws, tolling $432 billion, that expired before the beginning of the fiscal year 2022.” Since House Rules prohibit such appropriations, it should be an easy savings of almost one-half trillion dollars.

Chapter 2. Review and vote on every expenditure of the Judgment Fund. The Judgment Fund is the mother of all slush funds. It is a permanent, indefinite, and unlimited congressional appropriation continuously available to pay money judgments entered against the United States and settlements of cases in or likely to be in litigation with the United States. It is an indefinite appropriation, so secret that Congress no longer even debates what the amounts are for. The amounts are appropriated, no matter what the amount. The Department of the Treasury just pays the claims upon the receipt of the paperwork. This is the fund that President Obama used to deliver $1.7 billion in cash to Iran as a bribe to sign the Iran nuclear deal. Why should our government officials have billions in a secret fund to cover up illegal activity? Having Congress approve each judgment and settlement as it did before 1956, the U.S. could save taxpayers tens of billions of dollars.

Chapter 3. Enact a fair, simple tax code that raises money to operate the government rather than legislating personal behavior. Another easy way to reduce the deficit it to get rid of the 8-million-word tax code and replace it with the 1913- four-page Form 1040. Few deductions and low rates, but requiring everyone to pay some tax, including the wealthiest. Another benefit of this simple approach is it captures a greater amount of tax owed by closing the Tax Gap.  The IRS defines the tax gap as the difference between true taxes owed for a given tax year and the amount that is paid. The gap is caused by the under-reporting of income, non-filing, and tax evasion. While the exact amount is unknown, the IRS estimates it to range from $574 to $700 billion annually. A complex tax code invites under-reporting and manipulation, whereas failing to pay taxes in a simple system subjects one to tax fraud or tax evasion charges.

Chapter 4. Follow and implement GAO’s Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”). Congress mandates GAO to perform a GAAP analysis of federal spending and assets and provide recommendations to ensure the financial reporting by an agency is transparent and consistent. Every member of Congress should read these reports on how our money is managed and should implement its findings.  One specific GAO recommendation is for the federal government to address the government-wide improper payments, estimated to be $175 billion.

Chapter 5. Government must operate only for a public purpose. The issue of Congress giving away our money to private entities has been debated since the founding of the Republic. Opponents of giveaways argue taxpayer money can only be spent on matters enumerated in the Constitution. The government asserts it can spend taxpayer money on anything that promotes the general welfare. Continuing this debate is irrelevant since the courts have made it clear legislatures determine what the general welfare is. To address the excesses of gifts to private individuals, Congress should stop giving money to private parties, including tax credits for fancy automobiles, horse racing, NASCAR, and short-line railroads, and finally eliminate carried interest.

Chapter 6. Members of Congress and the President should imagine their conference tables are merely kitchen tables that invite a family discussion over finances. The amount of information available to Congress for making smart debt reduction decisions is overwhelming. It is time Congress puts these materials to use. A simple way to approach this task would be for each congressional committee to rank each program within its jurisdiction in order of priority.  The budget and appropriation committees would work with the authorizing committees to ensure the highest-priority programs receive priority funding. The appropriation committees would work down the list until the revenue raised by taxes is expended. At that point, Congress would have to cease spending money on programs for which there is no longer any revenue, e.g., studies of shrimp on a treadmill, or admit to the taxpayers it wants to borrow money to fund programs of lesser value. This kitchen-table process of spending only up to revenues received could save hundreds of billions of wasted dollars.  

Chapter 7. Re-constitute the Joint Committee on Reduction of Non-Essential Federal Expenditures, which existed from 1941 to 1974. This committee was established after World War II to recommend ways to reduce a massive federal budget.  Its goal was to identify non-essential spending. While the committee was only a study committee, requiring its recommendations to be submitted to authorizing and appropriation committees, it had a major impact on budgeting in government. With the inability of Congress to control spending or the states to force a Balanced Budget amendment to the Constitution, an alternative would be to create a similar committee to make recommendations to Congress but require its recommendations be voted on by Congress. This process creates accountability.

Chapter 8. Enact a Base Realignment and Closure Commission (“BRAC”) that applies to general appropriations. Due to political pressure to locate the military bases in numerous congressional districts, the U.S. constructed an excess of bases but could not close unneeded ones. To address the situation, Congress established BRAC, giving the Commission power to identify unnecessary bases and to send recommendations to Congress. The key to BRAC’s recommendations to Congress is that they became law unless Congress passed a Resolution of Disapproval and the President signed it. Using the BRAC structure, Congress could apply the same concept to all recommended reductions as a means of reducing political support for unneeded programs.

Chapter 9. Establish a Budget & Waste Reduction Director in every agency to identify unnecessary expenditures. Federal agencies have recycling and permit streamlining directors to help implement certain laws. Due to massive budget deficits, there should be a similar position to identify ways an agency can eliminate unneeded programs. The person should report directly to the head of the agency. All reports must be addressed by the head of the agency, and reasons for “No Action” must be publicly justified. Each director would recommend a 10% reduction in agency expenditures. Give the director a big bonus for meeting the target.

Chapter 10. The federal government needs to seriously re-think the massive subsidies it gives to private parties to buy green products. In the recently enacted “Inflation Reduction Act,” Congress authorized $370 billion in new tax credits for corporations and individuals if they purchase green energy products or build green energy facilities. The tax credits are to boost sales of electric vehicles, the installation of rooftop solar panels, the development of solar power systems, heat pumps, water heaters, space heating, electric stoves, circuit breaker boxes, additional home insulation, and exterior windows, to name a few private beneficiaries. This is in addition to federal regulations imposing energy efficiency requirements on at least sixty products and $577 billion in tax credits and grants for green energy projects since 2004.

The IRA was passed only a week after Congress authorized $280 billion to incentivize the semiconductor industry to build plants in the U.S. The semiconductor industry is a very profitable $573 billion industry that is expected to grow to $1.4 trillion by 2029 due to high demand for its products.

Starting a diet requires acknowledgment of being overweight and the desire to lose weight. The same is true with overspending. It cannot continue for the health of the nation. If overspending continues, the long-term consequences will be extremely harmful to the nation, especially future generations. While not every step in the diet book needs to be followed, if, however, the federal government implements four or five goals, it is guaranteed to reduce spending by a trillion dollars.

William L. Kovacs, author of Reform the Kakistocracy, winner of the 2021 Independent Press Award for Political/Social Change, and former senior vice president at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

 

 

 

 

 

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  • Yes, Virginia, The Federal Government is the Real Santa Claus

Yes, Virginia, The Federal Government is the Real Santa Claus

William L. Kovacs

December 2022

Yes, Virginia, The Federal Government is the Real Santa Claus

The Christmas season is a time of giving. Young children sit on Santa’s knee and provide him with a list of presents for under the tree. While it’s rewarding to see children happy with gifts, there is a dark downside to their expectations. Children grow up to be businessmen and women or social activists, and at Christmas time, they still expect presents. Now, however, they want, and usually receive, presents worth billions of dollars from the real Santa Claus, the federal government.

2022 is no exception. Since 1991, Congress has failed to pass its twelve appropriations bills. To avoid public failure, Congress takes the easy route. It bundles all spending into the proverbial secret Santa grab bag called an Omnibus appropriation bill. The corporatists and social advocates, like children opening presents, must wait to find out what they got until they can read the new law. The timing is usually the end of the year before Congress goes home for Christmas.

While Republicans claim they want to stop the next giveaway, they want their share of gifts even more. For this year’s share, several Republicans will likely help the Democrat business community keep their prize gifts, favorable tax treatment for research and development, and carried interest. The social activists want billions of dollars of higher childcare tax credits. The final deal is always more spending, never less.

Since the beginning of the republic, there has been a debate over the scope of Congress’s power to spend our money and then tax us to generate more money for Congress to spend. James Madison argued Congress could only spend on the items enumerated in the Constitution. Alexander Hamilton argued the Constitution’s Spending clause is independent of the enumerated powers, thus allowing Congress to tax and spend as it deems necessary. The only limitation – spending must be for the general welfare, and Congress is the only institution that determines the general welfare.

Continuing to debate the limits of Congressional spending is a waste of time. The Supreme Court has made it clear that Congress can spend on whatever it wants as long as it promotes the general welfare.

Such a broad interpretation of Congress’ ability to tax and spend has resulted in a massive expansion of government and a $31 plus trillion national debt.  The growth of the national debt will likely force posterity into involuntary servitude to the federal government. Most troubling is that the general welfare has morphed from building canals, bridges, and highways to make the U.S. an economic superpower into trillions of dollars of gifts to special interests and friends. These gifts to private entities come in the form of grants, tax credits, low rates, loan forgiveness, and paycheck protection plans.

Below are a few of the thousands of congressional gifts to private parties.

Suspending  $20 billion of student loan payments for two years and now seeking $600 billion more in student loan forgiveness based on the Higher Education Relief Opportunities Act of 2003, an act that addresses national welfare emergencies.

$ 721 billion was given in grants to states as a bribe to manage federal programs enacted outside the constitutional authority of Congress to legislate.

Forgiving tens of billions of dollars of federal Paycheck Protection Program loans made to organizations controlled by the elite rich such as Paul Pelosi (husband of the Speaker of the House); Khloe Kardashian, Tom Brady and Reese Witherspoon, Forbes Media, Ruth Chris Steakhouse, The Washington Times, and more than a few members of Congress.

$16 billion was given in farm aid to offset losses suffered by farmers on tariffs imposed on products sold to China. The top 10% of farmers receive 70% of the subsidies. This top 10% includes insurance companies, multinational corporations, and corporate farms.

Flood insurance subsidies are given to insure high-end housing in flood-prone areas, i.e., beachfront properties. This insurance program is potentially liable for $1.3 trillion in flood claims while only collecting $3.5 billion in annual premiums. The program already has $25 billion in losses taxpayers will have to pay.

The $330 billion prescription drug industry received $64 billion in federal research funding, along with immunity for any harm their drugs may cause.

Most recently, through the falsely named “Inflation Reduction Act,” Congress authorized $370 in new tax credits for corporations and individuals if they acquire green energy products or build green energy facilities. These tax credits are in addition to federal regulations imposing energy efficiency requirements on at least sixty products and $577 billion in tax credits and grants for green energy projects since 2004. The tax credits are to boost corporate sales of electric vehicles, the installation of rooftop solar panels, the development of solar power systems, heat pumps, water heaters, space heating, electric stoves, circuit breaker boxes, additional home insulation, and exterior windows, to name a few beneficiaries.

A week before the passage of the IRA, Congress authorized $280 billion to incentivize the semiconductor industry to build plants in the U.S. and invest in new research. The $ 573 billion semiconductor industry is expected to grow to $1.4 trillion by 2029 due to high product demand.

With a $31 trillion-plus national debt, citizens need to appreciate that every taxpayer owes $247,882 as their portion of the debt.

Christmas gifts to children are rewarding when parents see happiness in their eyes. Unfortunately, as some of these children grow up, they still expect gifts from the real Santa Claus, the federal government. The federal government likes playing Santa but never considers the immutable fact that the only money the federal government has is what it takes from taxpayers. The federal Santa game is simple. The federal government sees the glimmer in the eyes of its friends when they find out about the billion-dollar gifts they received for doing nothing. This tradition is the true meaning of a Washington, DC, Christmas.

William L. Kovacs, author of Reform the Kakistocracy, winner of the 2021 Independent Press Award for Political/Social Change, and former senior vice president at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

This article was first published in The Thinking Conservative.

 

 

 

 

 

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  • The Emperor Has New Clothes; U.S. Has New National Debt

The Emperor Has New Clothes; U.S. Has New National Debt

William L. Kovacs

December 2022

The Emperor Has New Clothes; U.S. Has New National Debt

In the oft-told story, The Emperor’s New Clothes, the vain emperor was constantly showing off his new clothes and wanting more impressive new clothes. To satisfy his vanity, a weaver told him there were magic clothes that were invisible to anyone who was unusually stupid. The emperor wanted them and the weaver went through the motions of dressing the emperor in magic clothes. While the emperor could not see the clothes the weaver dressed him in, he pretended to see them so he did not appear stupid. The emperor was told by all how fabulous were his new clothes. The emperor paraded everywhere so all could see the magic clothes that fit him to perfection.

One day, a little child saw the emperor, and said out loud, “But he hasn’t got anything on.” The child’s father dismissed his comments as “prattle.” But many in the crowd knew the child was right and whispered to others what the child said. The emperor heard it and suspected the child was right. But not wanting to appear wrong, he continued to walk prouder than ever in his magic clothes, and his nobleman continued to hold the train that wasn’t there.

Like the emperor, the leaders in our federal government dismiss as “prattle” the many in the crowd who cry, “The federal government hasn’t got any money at all.” But the federal government, unwilling to acknowledge it has no money, continues to proudly print more magic money.

The United States is $31 trillion in the hole. In the last several months, the Biden administration persuaded Congress to enact the Inflation Reduction Act ($500 billion), subsidies for the semiconductor industry ($46 billion) and is promising to forgive $400 billion in student loans and transfer another $36 billion to bail out the Teamsters Central States Pension Fund. The federal government of the U.S. is a “Spending Addict.” It is in desperate need of rehabilitation, but like the Emperor, it is too proud to stop doing stupid, shameful acts.

The federal government is the central reigning governmental body in the U.S. It is not the United States, notwithstanding the caption on lawsuits. Rather it is a constitutionally established mechanism in which representatives of the people are granted limited powers to serve the people and advance the common good of the nation. These representatives are not given individual or personal power. They are fiduciaries who must exercise their powers solely for the benefit of the common good of the nation and the American people.

The framework of our Constitution has few guardrails as to the type of government it can create. As long as any government is elected by the people to make laws and serve their interests, it is an acceptable Republican form of government under the Constitution.  Today, while the people of the nation elect representatives that have the theoretical power to change the laws, the political culture of the nation is such that these representatives are more loyal to the political party that helped them get elected than to the institution in which they serve. As such, our representatives are elected, but their power to change laws is limited by the power of the political party of which they are a member; not the institution in which they serve.

By giving their loyalty to the political party rather than the institution in which they serve, the power of representative government is severely limited. In this instance, it is the political party that protects freedom. In the other instance, it is the institution of Congress that protects freedom. Under the protection of a political party, our government functions as a combination of capitalist, socialist, oligarchy, kakistocracy, woke cult, and very likely, though unproven, a “deep intelligence state” that allows the optics of a Republic to exist in order to maintain the secrecy of action and the accumulation of greater powers.

The intent of our founders was to place perpetual sovereignty with the people of the country, not the federal government. As such, the federal government is an entity separate from but theoretically subject to control by the people. Unfortunately, those occupying the institutions comprising the federal government manipulate the Constitution and our laws to amass great personal power over the people. The individuals occupying federal positions, especially those in the Executive branch, have used their accumulated powers to become rulers and have transformed the people into servants.

Being separate from the people has allowed the federal government to use its powers to spend our money and impose mandates on us. The question must be asked who will pay off the debt? Notwithstanding its gross mismanagement of the nation, the federal government will tax the people to pay for its mismanagement. It has given itself the power to impose a tax burden of almost any amount needed to pay for what it wants to be done. From 1932 to 1981, the marginal tax rate in the U.S. ranged between 63% – 91%.

The national debt is 102% of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (“GDP”) of the nation. It is expected to be double the GDP by 2051.  Each taxpayer’s share of the national debt today is $245,191. The average personal income in the U.S. is $63,211. If Americans are concerned with inflation, wait until they get the bill for the national debt. The national debt will become so burdensome to future generations that it will undermine democracy. If the federal government taxed current citizens the amounts needed to pay for today’s government, a tax revolt would topple the government. It avoids being confronted for its lack of responsibility by passing the debt to future generations who have no responsibility for creating it.

If it is our responsibility today to ensure the federal government runs the country for the common good, we have failed. The federal government has spent more money than it brings in almost every year since Calvin Coolidge was president in 1930. The American people now send the federal government over $4 – $5 trillion annually for its operations. That amount is never enough. The federal government always spends trillions more annually. It just spends and spends without restraint. 88% of our $31 trillion national debt was accumulated by our last six presidents.

On the asset side of the balance sheet, the federal government holds only $5.6 trillion of assets in cash, accounts receivable, loans receivable, and property, plant, and equipment. Its largest asset is $1.6 trillion of student loan debt, which the government wants to forgive to curry political favor with college students.

The federal government has so far escaped default on its debt obligations by printing magic money.

The federal government has also developed mechanisms for passing the cost of federal programs onto the public without having to account for the cost. Specifically, the federal government has imposed so many statutory laws on the private sector that it is a “fruitless project” to count them. In addition to statutory laws, federal agencies have imposed over 200,000 regulations between 1976 and 2016 and published over 10,000,000 pages of regulations between 1950 – 2021. Regulations are also laws. Additionally, presidents have issued 14,088 Executive Orders, and hundreds of thousands of Guidance Documents to explain the hundreds of thousands of issued regulations. Congress has also enacted 136 Emergency laws that allow the president to rule as a dictator at the time of their choosing. These “laws” are not only costly, but they also restrict our freedom, literally mandate by mandate. The emergency laws come in the form of Covid lockdowns and vaccine mandates that carry a penalty of being fired for non-compliance.

Furthering the tentacles of the federal government, it has thousands of employees in every state in the nation. It also provides state and local governments with  $721 billion in grants to manage programs the federal government wants to be implemented but does not have the constitutional authority to impose by law or regulation.

With all of its massive spending and millions of workers, laws, and regulations to control every aspect of life, the federal government oozes incompetence. Not only is it bankrupt, but it is also unable to control its own borders, the essence of sovereignty. Its educational system, the core system for supporting future competition with the world, is in disarray. The U.S. ranks 30th in math and 18th in reading, on international assessments. The American people know the nation is not well governed. Seventy-four percent of its people believe the U.S. is going in the wrong direction. Only 21% think it is going in the right direction. Forty-three percent of Americans believe the U.S. will be in a civil war in the next ten years.

While the federal government continues to print more and more money while dismissing as prattle those claiming it has no money; it will soon find that magic money, like magic clothes, is not real. Eventually, the debt will have to be repaid by people who had no say in its borrowing or spending. As a final act to save itself, the federal government will put future generations of Americans into involuntary servitude to it as a means of paying off the national debt. So much for the federal government worrying about the common good for Americans.

William L. Kovacs, author of Reform the Kakistocracy, winner of the 2021 Independent Press Award for Political/Social Change, and former senior vice president at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.