Congress, the Bush Administration, and the presidential campaigns are approaching the economic situation like bureaucrats. Blindly assuming they possess omnipotent powers sufficient to calm the markets and free up credit, they put forth plans and debate laws that somehow never take into account the complexity of the global marketplace.
Macroeconomic policies do have effects, but they have to be coupled with a sense by the public that the government is part of the solution. If our political leaders want us to trust them, they need to take steps that show the government gets the problem, and is ready to do its part.
So let me suggest some common sense Missouri taxpayer solutions for the government, lessons that lawmakers seem to have forgotten, that families learn quickly in an economic crisis.
1) Get control of out-of-control spending. Families know that cutting back on eating out, carpooling to save gas money, and taking less expensive vacations or cutting them out entirely are key to the family budget. if you're spending more than you make, the first step is cutting wasteful expenses.
Step 1: A 3% cut in total spending by every Government department.
Companies do this all the time. Managers are told to reach percentage cuts in their departments, in the hope that squeezing budgets will lead to cutting out waste or seeking out ways to save money. This is an executive decision that can be enacted without a law. Giving every department a initiative to provide a budget that shows a real budget cut (as opposed to a cut in the rate of increase) will save billions, but most important, it will show the American people that government is serious about being a part of the solution. If we are all going to have to tighten our belts, government should have to as well. There should be no safe havens. Everyone can save a little money in the budget, especially when they've never had to.
Step 2: Freeze pay increases for two years. The idea that having a government job is a guaranteed raise is one that has to end. Freeze pay increases, and make sure they aren't retroactive three years from now. This should be the same across every sector of the government, from the Post Office to the State Department.
Step 3: Cut Congressional, Cabinet Heads, President and Vice President salaries 10 percent. Again, if politicians really want to show us they are in it with us, cut salaries 10%. It's a symbolic gesture, but one that will at least show that Congress means to really make a difference.
Step 4: New Spending. If new spending is necessary over the next two years, send clean bills to the President to sign. A commitment to clean bills gives lawmakers the opportunity to vote up or down on new spending, and reap the reward/bear the price for doing so. This goes against everything that Congress stands for, but compare it to new spending with a family. If you have to buy something, like a refrigerator, you have to buy a refrigerator. Buying a refrigerator doesn't mean that you also buy a new television. If spending is an issue with a $10 Trillion debt, clean spending bills will help solve the problem.
These measures of course have no chance of passing. They strike at the heart of the power of Congress, taking away their ability to create winners and losers with laws. They limit the ability to politicians to reward those that elect them, and they require accountability and honesty from the government.
But this would work, and that's what makes it such a tragedy. If you're interested, in debating this issue, link to this site and send me an e-mail, and I'll add your site, or my comments.
For more on citizen solutions, check out the Glittering Eye series on economic policy and fiscal policy.
Comments