This node is part of the 13 challenges for the 13th generation.
Problem:
Washington squanders billions of your tax dollars every year to fund outdated and unnecessary programs.
Solution:
Trim Uncle Sam’s bloated budget.
Step 1.
Wipe out 34 ineffective programs
In the recently released Concord Coalition’s Zero Deficit Plan, Senators Paul Tsongas and Warren Rudman call for the elimination or reduction of 50 government programs that are either not working, not necessary, or no longer affordable. Eliminating just two-thirds of these would save tax payers almost $20 billion.
Step 2.
Reform federal pensions
Federal workers get twice what their private sector counterparts get. We can save almost $6 billion in the year 2000 alone, and more in the following years, by changing the way we calculate persons and eliminating cost-of-living increases for nondisabled retirees younger than 62 – giving them instead a one-time catch-up increase after they turn 65.
Step 3.
Cut administrative spending by 5 percent
A 5 percent cut in overhead would generate $14 billion to $17 billion a year in savings.
Step 4.
Eliminate half a million civil service jobs
With over 2.2 milion federal jobs, the annual price tag for the federal payroll is over $113 billion – and that doesn’t count retirement pensions and benefits. Every year, 7 percent of the federal work force leaves, retires, or dies. Even if we rehired 20 percent of the lost jobs – more than enough to ensure that all critical positions remain filled – we could eliminate 550,000 federal jobs and save over $100 billion in salaries, benefits, and future pensions without firing a single person. In one year, we’d save forty-six billion dollars.