The Downfall of Conservatism, Inc.

[Cyber Liberty]

The downfall of conservatism, inc. is not a political surprise, nor is the reason a mystery.  Politics is a people game.  The approachable, likable candidate is the one the people will turn to; it's human nature. 

Sanctimonious and judgmental by nature, most political conservative candidates and their spokespeople are inherently unapproachable and unlikable --- downright off-putting.

Occam's razor.

This is especially true in a media atmosphere that enables leftists to say things like, "Telling me I can't murder my unborn child is being 'Judgemental!'"  Off-putting is correct.

[Hoodat]

While that works in a private corporation it would amount to nothing more than an empty gesture at the federal level, like Trump refusing a salary.

Uh, no.  Let's take food stamps for example.  Say that Congress appropriates $80 billion for food stamps, but only $60 billion was actually spent on food stamps.  Then at the end of the fiscal year, there should be $20 billion left over, and a sign to Congress that only $60 billion is needed the next year.  Instead, the government finds other (non-wall-related) things to spend the excess $20 billion.  And then the following year, Congress automatically appropriates $84 billion.

I choose Option A.  There is nothing empty about having hundreds of billions of dollars left over in the Treasury at the end of the fiscal year.   Those are dollars that can be used to retire debt.

[Cyber Liberty]

Uh, no.  Let's take food stamps for example.  Say that Congress appropriates $80 billion for food stamps, but only $60 billion was actually spent on food stamps.  Then at the end of the fiscal year, there should be $20 billion left over, and a sign to Congress that only $60 billion is needed the next year.  Instead, the government finds other (non-wall-related) things to spend the excess $20 billion.  And then the following year, Congress automatically appropriates $84 billion.

I choose Option A.  There is nothing empty about having hundreds of billions of dollars left over in the Treasury at the end of the fiscal year.   Those are dollars that can be used to retire debt.

 

That perfectly illustrates a firm rule about bureaucracies:  Monies left unspent will be taken off next year's appropriations.   That is right next to self-propagation of the bureaucracy, where the bureaucracy itself becomes more important than the mission it was meant to accomplish.

[Hoodat]

That perfectly illustrates a firm rule about bureaucracies:  Monies left unspent will be taken off next year's appropriations.   That is right next to self-propagation of the bureaucracy, where the bureaucracy itself becomes more important than the mission it was meant to accomplish.

Hence the need for an incentive.  Let's say 5% of leftover money goes to Department employees at the discretion of the Secretary, with a new baseline for the following year created.  With the food stamp example, $20 billion in bonuses would be paid out to departmental employees.  The following year, 5% of anything below $60 billion (regardless of Congressional appropriation) would likewise be distributed.  Thus, government employees would not only have a vested interest in cutting spending, they would also have an interest in seeing incompetent fellow employees fired so that their cut of the savings is spread among fewer people.

If only we had a President with enough business experience to pull this off.

[Bigun]

That perfectly illustrates a firm rule about bureaucracies:  Monies left unspent will be taken off next year's appropriations.   That is right next to self-propagation of the bureaucracy, where the bureaucracy itself becomes more important than the mission it was meant to accomplish.

@Cyber Liberty

Pournelle's Iron Law of Bureaucracy

 "In any bureaucracy, the people devoted to the benefit of the bureaucracy itself always get in control and those dedicated to the goals the bureaucracy is supposed to accomplish have less and less influence, and sometimes are eliminated entirely."

[Cyber Liberty]

@Cyber Liberty

Pournelle's Iron Law of Bureaucracy

 "In any bureaucracy, the people devoted to the benefit of the bureaucracy itself always get in control and those dedicated to the goals the bureaucracy is supposed to accomplish have less and less influence, and sometimes are eliminated entirely."

An old AZ Pol, Sam Steiger (RIP) had a similar Rule he always talked about.

[catfish1957]

ROTFLMAO!!!

SURE @sneakypete ... Pay no attention to the bare fact that I exited the Republican party (*SPIT*) almost a decade ago precisely because they are losers selling out America. I sure as hell ain't the one getting played. It's the ones who want me to vote for what I oppose that are being played... You know, folks like you, bawling because I will not support yet another idiot clown, and a  buffoon to boot... And the big government he represents.

Bingo...  Some here have trouble discerning a difference between being a conservative and a republican.   In their delusional state, it is all about Trump, no matter how much POTUS Camacho he exudes.