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“All spending is discretionary. Read the Constitution. Congress has to appropriate it; the President has to sign it. All spending is discretionary and it has to be looked at from the point of view of, can we afford it now? Is it appropriate to pass it on to the next generation? This is what I did in
New York City. I restored fiscal discipline …”
- Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Remarks On 12 Commitments To The American People,
Bedford, NH, 6/12/07
RUDY’S PLAN TO RESTORE FISCAL DISCIPLINE AND CUT WASTEFUL SPENDING
Anonymous earmarks, concealed budgeting, and special interests waste taxpayer dollars within the Federal budget
Over the last decade, non-defense spending increased 72%, while the number of earmarks increased from 1,000 to nearly 10,000. Rudy Giuliani will impose fiscal discipline and accountability through a combination of executive action and legislative reform. (The Budget of the U.S. Government, Fiscal Year 2008, Historical Tables; Citizens Against Government Waste, http://www.cagw.org/site/PageServer?pagename=reports_porkbarrelreport)
Ok, I like that. I only wish that earmarks, concealed budgeting, and special interest funding had even a marginal shadow compared to the two biggest line item budgets that our federal government now faces: Military spending (#1) and Welfare (#2). If you wonder why Bill Clinton took on a reduced budget for the military and actively tried to reduce welfare then you might say....hey this guy has his eye on the big spending. But we are not talking about Bill Clinton.
End Earmarking & Start Budgeting Like a Business: Rudy’s plan will make government more honest, accountable, and transparent by making Congress budget more responsibly, like American businesses and taxpayers
* Stop irresponsible and anonymous earmarks.
* Require mandatory sunset clauses for all Federal programs.
* Require Congressional Budget Office cost estimates for all legislation before it is voted upon.
* Create separate capital and operating budgets.
* Bring generally accepted accounting principles to the Federal government.
Stop the ear marks, cool with me! Sunset clauses, cool with me! CBO giving a cost est., cool with me! Separate capital and OpEx, cool with me! I just have to wonder though...this is all on the premise that Congress is just gonna say "ok, fine with me. We'll do everything you say." Still, the rhetoric is postive. As for bringing GAAP standards to the government....can Congress be the next Enron or is the Justice Department going to sue the Executive and Legislative branch....can you even do that? So yourself I mean? Regardless....still some good gum flapping. I support it.
Reduce the Federal Civilian Workforce by 20% through Attrition and Retirement: Within the next decade, 42% of the Federal Civilian Workforce – some 300,000 bureaucrats - will retire. (Congressional Budget Office, “Characteristics and Pay of Federal Civilian Employees”, 3/07)
* Replace only half, making the Federal government smaller and smarter through increased use of technology and privatization.
* Eventually saving the taxpayers $21 billion each year, while ensuring that the Federal government is focused on performing its essential responsibilities (Congressional Budget Office, “Characteristics and Pay of Federal Civilian Employees”, 3/07).
me likey likey! :)
Require Agencies to Identify at Least 5% to 20% in Spending Reductions
Requiring agency heads to identify savings and increased efficiencies in each annual budget – as Rudy Giuliani did as Mayor – is a management tool that will lead to constant streamlining and more cost-effective government spending without compromising national security in the search for savings.
I think this might be one of the few planks to the Don's manifesto that I can agree with. I support this!
Propose a Constitutional Amendment Establishing a Presidential Line-Item Veto
A constitutional line-item veto would allow the President to fight for the national interest by cutting wasteful special interest programs without contributing to gridlock by vetoing an otherwise sound bill.
Well....this was enacted into Law by a Republican congress for a Democrat president. Then later deemed unconstitutional by a Republican judge, then struck from law by a Republican majority of the supreme court. Makes your head spin huh? So here is the deal...the House of Representatives and the House of the Senate duly enact legislation to be signed (or vetoed) into law by the president. By permitting the President additional powers to strike these pieces of legislation you are giving an unbalance of power to the Executive branch. While at times I support the line item veto I can't sit here and support it. It like opening Pandora's box. I think the true reform comes from us and our ability to criticize our elected Representatives and Senators. If you start firing them then they'll stop.
Use GAPStat to Evaluate the Effectiveness of Federal Agencies & Eliminate Wasteful Spending
Rudy’s plan establishes a Government-wide Accountability Program [”GAPStat”] based on New York’s successful CompStat program to better evaluate each agency, analyze the effectiveness of Federal programs, and identify those that are wasteful, failing or duplicative.
* Allows the Office of Management and Budget to evaluate effectiveness in a new way, hold Congress accountable for the wasteful programs it funds, and offer specific solutions to save taxpayer dollars.
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