THE STATE OF THE STATES

  

The debt deal has States readying for the revenue losses that they expect will dry up from Washington. Some are proposing cutbacks in benefits while others are discussing tax hikes.

The problem is that unless Washington changes the mandatory spending and regulations by States then without Federal funding the States must continue to run in the red.

That means tax increases and increased pot holes or both for the citizens. The only real way to reduce government spending at both the Federal and State level is to get rid of Federal mandates.

That requires repealing Obamacare along with the long list of federal regulations from Transportation to Commerce but that cannot be done in a democratically controlled White House and Senate.

"States rely on federal aid to pay for many popular programs, including Head Start, work study, energy and housing subsidies, highway repair, and emergency response. With fewer federal dollars available, states will need to restrict their own resources to vital institutions, while cutting or charging fees for less-crucial services."

"Since August 2008, state and local governments have trimmed workforces at a rate of about 10,000 to 20,000 positions per month, according to the CBPP. Reduced federal aid will likely mean more state-level job and benefits cuts, which in turn could slow states’ recoveries."

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2011/0802/Fewer-cops-more-potholes-How-debt-deal-could-hit-states-hardest

Yet a big federal government has all the States by the throat and the only way to really cut big government is to rid our nation of federal mandates and entitlements. That requires that the American people call on our leadership in Washington in 2012 to get rid of Agencies not just cutting their budgets.

However some Republicans hedge on ridding the Federal Government of extra constitutional tentacles such as EPA and Agriculture worrying that doing away with these agencies will both lose them votes and increase unemployment in a lackluster economy.

Yet, the redundancy of these Federal Agencies that then require States to enact laws and layers of bureaucracy to comply is what is wrong with big central government that belittles States’ Rights along with raising taxes to the citizens at the State level.

The only rational way to reduce the size of the Federal government is to abolish its many intrusive Agencies that strangle our economy and franchise Statehood leaving it powerless to practice individual experimentation.

America needs to cut Federal Agencies wholesale such as the Education Department but do it incrementally in a 5 year phase out to give federal workers time to look for private sector jobs. Some of the federal employees could be absorbed by State government while others would be given a warning a year in advance that their job will become obsolete. Thereby incrementally culling the Departments annually until the Department is finally retired.

Business routinely expands and contracts its divisions of labor by absorbing some workers into other departments and giving other employees time to seek new work outside the company. Not all business just blithely lay off workers and the government could use this ratchet down approach to rid Americans of wasteful ineffective government bloat.

Americans are tired of politicians claiming that if it reduced its bureaucracy, regulations and workforce that the sky will fall down. Contracting the size and regulatory power of the Federal government along with tort reform and tax reform (flat tax) would have long term investment spurring economic growth.

The States are going to hurt if federal mandates and regulatory agencies such as EPA continue to dictate money spending to States without offering the States a check. Americans want not just a smaller Federal government in reduced budgets for bureaucracies they want the federal government redundant and unnecessary Agencies off the State and citizens pocketbook totally.

Then States could manage with block grants education, environment, commerce, energy, agriculture, and transportation leaving the Feds the military, Social Security, Center for Disease Control and Immigration and Naturalization where perhaps with only those few agencies they might consider watch dogging waste.

If the politicians say it can’t be done then their time in office should also be considered done by the voter. We the people need to demand a change until Washington changes!