Cut, Baby, Cut!

I've voiced cautious optimism about the incoming administration several times since Donald J. Trump achieved his remarkable political comeback and spearheaded The Great Rejection. Cautious in that Trump remains Trump, a creature of instincts both good and bad, and because some of his policy ideas (tariffs are great, dontchaknow!) are not all that and a bag of chips.

While I reserve judgment until I see what is actually done, I am giddy with anticipation of Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy heading up the Department of Government Efficiency. As a fan of Rand Paul's annual Festivus Report that highlights wasteful and absurd government spending, the notion of a couple motivated smart people who have Trump's ear having at the beyond-bloated Federal budget is a shining beacon of hope in a vast sea of depression.

Of course, bureaucrats are not going to go along willingly with anything that cuts the Other People’s Money they manage. Nor are the myriad sucklers on the public teat going to be happy that their funding to study the sleep habits of monkeys after giving them meth in the morning.

Among the most frustrating to this political observer is the high dudgeon over health insurers' profits (about 3% of the industry's $1.27T revenue, or about $40B) while the government loses SIX TIMES that much every year to "improper payments." Medicaid alone sent $50B to people and entities that weren't supposed to get it.

The inflation of the Biden years, no matter histrionics to the contrary, was driven by rampant deficit spending. Between massive spending bills and executive actions, Biden stacked trillions of new borrowing and money creation on Americans' shoulders, sapping 20% of the dollar's value in the process.

Here's where the rubber hits the road. A lot of the spending Biden's various bills authorized hasn't happened yet. Unspent dollars can be clawed back via a process known as rescission.

An action by the President canceling Budget Authority (BA) previously appropriated but not yet obligated or spent. The President is required to submit a special message to Congress reporting any proposed rescission of budgetary resources. This proposal may be accepted in whole or part by the passage of a rescission bill by both Houses of Congress. If both houses of Congress do not approve the proposed rescission within 45 days, the President must obligate the BA as intended by the Congress.

Imagine DOGE offers a laundry list to the President. The President says "great, let's go for it!" He sends the required notice to Congress - a Congress controlled by the GOP, mind you.

What happens next will be "put up or shut up" time for the Republicans. Will the party that talks a big game about fiscal responsibility when not in power actually do it? Or will we see a bevy of Cornhusker Kickback equivalents demanded, as individual Congresslizards try to carve their favorite chunks of pork off the list?

A major rescission would go a long way to taming the inflationary pressures that persist. So would repeal of boondoggles like the Inflation Reduction Act, elimination of several Cabinet agencies, and an omnibus “cancel everything” bill would be wonderful.

Cut, baby, cut, and go beyond meth monkeys, promoting Egyptian tourism, rectal thermometers for Labrador Retrievers, or putting Russian cats on treadmills.

Nancy Pelosi, just a bit over a year ago, laughably asserted that "The cupboard is bare. There’s no more cuts to make."

Perhaps she should have read the Festivus Report first.

If Musk and Ramaswamy do what I hope, if Trump goes along with what they find, and if (IF!!!) Congressional Republicans respect the mission, then this effort alone could make Trump-47 a transformative Presidency.

Time will tell.