Sorry, Salty. I was trying to be a bit lighthearted about the 'penny wise and pound foolish' aspect of government cost control that I have often seen. For example, Susanne's $64 pencil. One could say: "Wow! I have really cut costs in our department...our pencils now only cost $60 each!

The real problem there is that they don't just put in an order for pencils at Walmart or on Amazon. And that is itself dwarfed by the spending that goes on by big government agencies (that should not even exist).

I was not trying to hijack cause and effect, just a poor attempt at a bit of humor.

Jan

Agreed. Regulation and paperwork are the unspoken kedge anchor to the economy, and if you look at China, you can understand why it grew, China makes absolute crap, and cheats their customers with substandard materials. Then when they are discovered, they scream "You hate Chinee!" Look at what happened to Mattel. So the bureaucrats believe all this control will ensure a good product...uh..right..

I just got back from two weeks' holiday in the UK... England, Scotland and Wales.

Reading the local papers and watching the local TV news, it was very clear to me that the UK has virtually identical 'problems' to the ones we in the US complain about.

Someone might think that two countries where they speak vaguely similar languages might have been able to get together and help each other solve such similar problems.

Guess again. I would NOT look to the UK as the source of ideas or solutions to US' problems!

Just part of the problem... back in the days of the "$400 hammers" I realized that if you or I had to fill out all of the paperwork and other stupid government requirements in order to sell the government a hammer, we, too, would have to charge hundreds of dollars to cover OUR expenses in doing so, long before we delivered the hammer.

The cause of the problem is not the hammer or the hammer suppliers... it's the bureaucracy and stupid and unnecessary requirements that are attached to the hammer!

Government is inherently inefficient and wasteful, because the accounting systems are archaic as well as inaccurate. The most offensive one is the "must spend every penny before Oct01, so we get the same amount or more". Business is no better though, my company wastes millions each year on parts that could be purchased or made much cheaper, but there is no will to change, every proposal I have made has been shot down with "well, that won't work"..

True; and then they debate where to spend the "savings". Reminds one of ENRON.

The problem is that in the thinking of Washington, a budget decrease is simply a decrease in the increase.

...it would be enough to deflect the trajectory of the debt increase."
Carefully chosen words, Salty and rightfully so.

I'd stand and cheer a 1%-cut-President, then breathe a little sigh, but that would be only the beginning.
Ultimately we must balance the budget.
If we never balance the budget we never pay down the debt. It's that simple.

The National Debt is the only credible threat we face with the power to destroy us.
It IS the internal decay that heralds the implosion of Empires.

We MUST pay down the debt.
Anyone who says otherwise is either a fool or a con.

A BALANCED BUDGET will save us.
But only making it REQUIRED will make it happen.

A BALANCED BUDGET AMMENDMENT.
It's a reeeaally good idea. Worth fighting for.

You need to go back and read that again, Jan. I didn't say that stealing pens CAUSED the problem...I said that if they truly wanted to get a handle on solving the problem, they should reduce each department's budget by 1% each year for 5 years, and the first years' cut would be met by stopping pilferage.

Employees stealing pens is what causes national debt? I would like to say that I am in favor of federal employees stealing all of the Orifice Despot (thank you Susanne) priced pens they want...as long as we close the EPA, dissolve Obamacare, turn down the tap on Welfare to only include a handful of handicapped people, watchdog politicians spending and benefits both for themselves and for their endowments, and eliminate the laws that cause wasteful spending in the government.

Then, steal all the pens you want, folks.

Jan

That is why I don't vote. People vote for idiots to be in office or a person who slaps that big ole' smile and then once they get their foot in it's all over for us. The minute I saw Obama, My thought was "these people are really stupid'. Politicians charm people and once they are in office, they can do and say whatever they want. And I agree with the person who said, It's not who you vote for, it's who counts the votes.

Actually the savings would far exceed 1%... please remember, all those items are purchased off a government contract... so that #2 Ticonderoga in Schoolbus Yellow that costs what, 16¢ from Orifice Despot would cost... mmm... (doing governmental magic math) Unca Sam about... um... $64.67. Each. A "box" of 12 (normally a couple bucks or so) would come out to somewhere like $750 on a GSA contract to purchase 3.2 million of the infamous test-fodder specials...

It's not just the feds that have "mandatory purchasing contracts" like this. A medium to good quality "executive" web back office chair (like the one I'm sitting in right now) cost $159 from Orifice Despot ($128.50 on sale). Works quite fine. The closest we can get from Prison Industries (which, by law, we, as a state agency, are MANDATED to purchase) is somewhere north of $900.

Think that's bad? Even tho I supplied my own office chair (theirs are a pain in the posterior, literally) we STILL had to purchase one of the Contract Specials for my office because, well, each office is mandated to have no less than one each...

Welcome to the People's Republic, Comrade!

They are projecting debt into 2040. Perhaps it is presumptuous to even think that the USA will still exist then? (At least with the government and fiscal form that it has today and even pretend to be responsible for the debt).

I have a solution. Cut employment and outside contracts by 10% right off. That's where the costs are anyway. Forget the pens and pencils. It might take a few years to wade thru the lawsuits but at least the spending would slow down

It's not who you vote for that counts; it's who counts the votes that matters.

debt caused by all of the government employees is NEVER going to decrease, eventually it will exceed the gdp by double if it is not there yet. not one of the employees who sit in these congressional meeting is going to do anything to stifle it EVER.
WELCOME TO AMERICA.

You nailed that tin horn dance, Will.
Smoke and mirrors sleight of hand embellished for you by an enabling lapdog media.

There is the Washington version of draconian cuts: you ask for a $10 billion dollar increase and only get a $9 billion increase.

"Congress cuts $1 billion for program for ..."

Well, I went into debt and ended up moving home with my parents where rent is much cheaper. I also cut my "spending programs" on dining out and spending money on my girlfriend and her kids. I eat tuna and pasta quite a bit. Maybe we can cry for the UK to take us back as a territory and stop spending money on all of our allies and their kids.

We, the people, have let the looters and thieves run things for 100 years. What a surprise that we are nearly destitute and they are wealthy and powerful.

"Our government spends more than it takes in every single day. All of us know what the solution is as well."
Everyone knows the problem and what to do about it, yet they fail to act until a crisis presents.