Romney's Got Some Good Ideas After All
Back when the Republican primaries were competitive, I had concerns about Mitt Romney's lack of details on tax reform and reducing government spending. He claimed loyalty to both principles all the time without giving anything more than marginal examples of things that were non-controversial and would cut spending by mere bits.
Today, however, National Review has a good analysis of Romney's much more specific comments delivered recently to a group of donors at a private fundraiser. He mentioned specific things he would do to simplify the tax code, along with a 20 percent reduction in rates. He also mentioned that the Department of Housing and Urban Development would be on the chopping block.
Finally! HUD is probably the worst performing department in the federal government -- and it also had a big hand in the housing bubble bursting.
Many conservatives also mention the Departments of Education, Energy, and Commerce as candidates for abolition. Mitt mentioned the Department of Education, but he said he would either downsize it or roll it into another department (translation: "I'll do whatever won't cost me votes").
Romney still sounds like he really won't go that far. To my mind, there are at least four departments you can outright eliminate, and several other cabinet positions that should be consolidated
- Department of HUD - Eliminate
- Department of Commerce - Eliminate
- Department of Energy - Eliminate
- Department of Education - roll into HHS and downsize both
- U.S. Trade Representative - roll into the State Department
- Office of Director of National Intelligence - Eliminate
- Ambassador to UN - roll into the State Department
- EPA Director - Demote to an agency head rather than cabinet official
Anyone have other departments or agencies you'd like to see abolished our consolidated? It's a fun exercise for those of us who believe in limited government.
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Jul '10
Re: Romney's Got Some Good Ideas After All
James Lileks: Simple rule: does the department produce or regulate? The Department of Energy, as far as I know, does not produce any actual, you know, energy. The Department of Education is directly responsible for a student body of Zero.
Or, take this approach: any department that was created in a mood of panic - we don't have enough oil! Ivan's kids are getting smarter than ours! - should eliminated.
HUD could be reduced to 100 people directing block grants to localities which might, you suspect, have a better idea about their needs than the satraps half a continent away. ยท 7 hours ago
If the states need money, let them tax to get it. Block grants are just a mechanism to shift the burden to the least accountable and fiscally responsible layer of government. States that cannot borrow on their own are compelled by bribes from the borrower in chief to help the federal government squander little Johnnie's life earnings.
Block grants are the cornerstone of the federal squanderama.
Feb '12
Re: Romney's Got Some Good Ideas After All
I tend to agree with Sisyphus. There is no constitutional barrier to the states providing these services or setting up these programs themselves. If they are so vital and necessary, creating a state agency will be priority one as soon as the federal government abolished the federal agency.
States have same taxing power as federal government and aren't limited by an enumeration of powers. If a state can do it, the federal government should not be involved.