Government Startup versus Reduced Spending

Open Email to Sen. Cornyn (TX):

Dear Sen. Cornyn,
    I refer to your recent form letter on the government shutdown.    In that letter you said excessive government spending dampens job creation and stalls economic growth.  Congress and the President need to implement the spending cuts and structural entitlement reforms necessary to strengthen the long-term fiscal integrity of our country. I agree completely.
    You also said a government shutdown creates further uncertainty and instability in the economy.  I am eager to end the shutdown and move ahead with the fiscal and economic reforms our country so urgently needs.
    It is in this second statement, that we may have a problem. The question is how eager are you to end the shutdown? You must have noticed that Speaker Boehner has made substantial progress against the principles of funding big government advocated by the Senate Democrats and the President. By standing firm in his beliefs and using the strategy of piecemeal funding of government, Speaker Boehner has already achieved some success in government fund reduction and has both Democrats and the President in a state of panic.
    I hope that your eagerness to end the shutdown will not destroy all of the good work that Speaker Boehner has put into his workable program.

Government Spending

    The Washington Times says, "Obama doesn’t back down, keeps pressure on Boehner, GOP".
    It should have more appropriately said, "Boehner and the GOP don't back down, keep pressure on Obama".

Scorekeeping on Government Shutdown

Open Email to House Speaker Boehner:

Dear House Speaker Boehner,
    The Washington Times says that with the 17% government shutdown, key agencies are no longer producing financial reports and this makes it impossible for Congress to determine what action should be taken on government spending.
    That position is WRONG!    Anybody who watches football games can tell who is winning without ever looking at the scoreboard. True, the scoreboard gives additional information, but the fundamental of who wins the game is not changed by concentration on those numbers.
    In the case of the 17% government shutdown, all signs show that piecemeal government funding is an effective strategy. It obviously reduces expenses, which is the major requirement. It is also known to be effective by listening to the howling of Democrats and the President.
    The next issue is extending the public debt limit to allow increased borrowing. This needs to be handled in the same way as all government spending. It is obvious that the only purpose of increasing debt is to obtain more money so that it can be spent, which is exactly contrary to the long-term needs of the government and its people. The Obama Administration has tried to confuse the issue by claiming that unless the debt limit is increased, we will need to default on payment of government bond interest, which would be a worldwide disaster. Baloney! There's plenty of money to pay government bond interest. It is only a matter of how the available money is allocated. Obviously, we advocate paying our debts and avoiding accumulation of new debt. Government finance is not exactly the same as personal finance, but there are many similarities. On a personal basis, one must pay the interest on the credit card, but it is also undesirable to engage in any new spending, which would then require payment of even more interest.

Tough Times Ahead for Research?

Open Email to Representatives and Senators:

Dear Representatives and Senators,
    The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a large nongovernmental organization. However, many of its members obtain financial research support from various government agencies. Last May, it held its annual form on science and technology policy, at which time government funding for private research was discussed.
    The forum bemoaned the fact that projected government research funding in 2013 would be back to the same level as it was in 2002. It also showed that the six major US government funders would be supplying 6.5% less money than it did the previous year. The actual funding reduction would be $9 billion. Total funding would be $133 billion, which I believe most people would agree is a substantial amount of money. I believe this is about $1000 per US resident.
    It is unclear what may have happened since last May, especially in view of the 17% partial government shutdown. However, assuming we're still on the same track, I congratulate Congress for the reduction. I would like to make it as a strong congratulation, but I am limited by my conclusion that $133 billion is much, much, too much for the federal government to be doling out to universities for mostly questionable research projects. I was also sorry to see that, in the recent efforts to use piecemeal funding of various sections of government, the funding of the National Institute of Health was approved. I suppose that because it has the name "health" in its title, it received some sort a special priority. However, I believe the only justification for any significant NIH funding is for the Disease Control Center section in Atlanta. It should be noted that of the various government agencies, the dole for research was largest for the NIH. It amounted to $30 billion last year.
    May I strongly suggest that if Congress is really serious about reducing government spending, with the intention of establishing a long-term fiscally viable government, it could start with these silly research grants which are a significant drain on our resources.

Reducing Government Employment

Open Email to House Speaker Boehner:

Dear Speaker Boehner,
    Congratulations on your move to guarantee back pay for all federal employees now on furlough. The Washington Times says, the bill ensures
that hundreds of thousands of furloughed government workers will receive full back pay after lawmakers strike a deal to reopen the federal government. I see the House vote was unanimous, and it is almost certain that the Senate and Pres. will approve the measure early next week.
I suppose you had to do this as part of your piecemeal government funding strategy and to maintain public support. However, I'm sure you recognize this also defeats in part our objective to reduce the size of government. The more government employees we have on the payroll, the larger is our government, and the more we spend
You will now have to start thinking of some other mechanisms by which to reduce government employment, if we are ever going to make any headway on reducing expenses and establishing a program for long-term government continuity. Unfortunately, I have no suggestions at this time.

Government Shutdown

Open Email to House Speaker Boehner:

Dear Speaker Boehner,
    There been three developments since yesterday. A woman on Fox News said the public wants a termination of the government shutdown. Fox News also said some Republicans are ready to support a Continuing Resolution. Chuck Hagel called back to work 400,000 civilian employees, presumably with pay.
    Let's take them one at a time.    It is not surprising that the public would generally like to have some form of government operating. The general public is probably not conversant enough with the details to know that the present shutdown is relatively minor, which I will demonstrate later. In addition, there are likely many persons who feel that their entitlements are jeopardized, and they don't want that, even if they were to recognize that entitlements are driving the government to a Communist/Socialist form with Dictator Obama eventually reducing civilian benefits in an attempt to maintain as long as possible an operating government destined to fail. Examples are East Germany, the Soviet Union, Cuba, and North Korea.
    It is highly likely that any Republicans who would support a Continuing Resolution are likely not really Republicans interested in the continuity of the United States, but may be Democrats in disguise. Another possibility is that they have believed much of the information in the normal press and may be convinced that their jobs, through reelection by the public,.are in jeopardy. It is doubtful that they could be as generally ignorant of details and the overall objectives of what government should be as apparently is most of the public. I think the numbers are small, and we have no choice other than to overlook these lost souls.
    The return of 400,000 civilian employees to work, apparently with pay, is said to be a legal decision. No details are given on specific law, and it is likely that is really an arbitrary decision based upon an Obama directive to Nagel, his Secretary of Defense. Although Pres. Obama is withholding himself from the frontline position, his attitude has probably been to give this order to Nagel with the reasoning that, "let's just do it, because I don't think Congress can or will do anything about it". He is probably correct on this, because I believe all of us do not want to see the military even partially impaired, which would give encouragement and opportunity to foreign aggressive powers.
    Getting on to the facts of government shutdown, the Washington Examiner has this to say:
"Everyone knows the phrase "government shutdown" doesn't mean the entire U.S. government is shut down. So in a partial government shutdown, like the one underway at the moment, how much of the government is actually shut down, and how much is not"? Estimates drawn from the Congressional Budget Office and and the White House Office of Management and Budget show that 83 percent of government operations continue. This figure was also obtained before the Nagel order to put 400,000 civilian employees back to work.
    Even taking the old figure, a 17% shutdown is pretty darn small compared to the major issue involved, which is an attempt to reduce the size of government. However, as we have said previously, even that low-level has attracted much animosity from the President and the Democrats. Apparently the President feels that any attempt at imposition to develop a continuous conversion to a Communist/Socialist government is a personal insult.
    Speaker Boehner, I have recommended to you previously and continue to recommend your continued attempts to use piecemeal funding of government as a technique to reduce government size. The facts are much against you, but you have made progress. Even if there is ultimate failure, the likelihood is that you will go down in history with other patriots, such as Patrick Henry with his "Give me liberty or give me death".

Government Shutdown Reduces Spending and New Debt

Open Email to Speaker Boehner:

Dear Speaker Boehner,
     In spite of the government shutdown, the government continues to spend, collect tax revenue, and sell bonds to accumulate new debt.
    According to cnsnews.com, in the first two days of the shutdown, the Treasury spent $63 billion. It collected $26 billion in taxes, and accumulated an additional $2 billion in government debt, through selling new Treasury securities..
    In the same period last year, spending was $124 billion, with $29 billion collected in taxes and added new debt of $101 billion, through selling new Treasury securities.
    So you see that government shutdown with subsequent piecemeal funding is making considerable contribution to developing smaller government.        
    Let's keep up the good work.