Streamlining Bureaucracy

On this day of remembrance for our U.S. veterans who have proudly served, and as the more-than-metaphoric fiscal cliff fast approaches that realistically could handcuff and weaken our military capabilities around the world, I took it upon myself (because no one asked) to re-organize the Cabinet of the United States (which from now on shall be called "Ministry of the Republic"...because "Cabinet of the United States" has always sounded kind of dumb):

MINISTRY OF DOMESTIC TRANQUILITY

      Department of Agriculture
      Department of Commerce & Labor* [combined/renamed]
      Department of Energy
      Department of Transportation
      Department of Treasury

MINISTRY OF COMMON DEFENSE

      Department of Defense & Homeland Security* [combined/renamed]
      Department of Intelligence & Espionage* [new]
      Department of Justice
      Department of State
      Department of Veterans Affairs

MINISTRY OF GENERAL WELFARE

      Department of Education
      Department of Health & Human Services
      Department of Housing & Urban Development
      Department of Interior 

Now, granted this scheme doesn't exactly cut down the number of departments. However, there would be only THREE “Ministers” as opposed to the current FIFTEEN “Secretaries.” 3 < 15…and can be counted on one hand (not to mention that combining a few departments reduces that number to 14). Plus, they now succinctly represent the three areas of most importance to the sustainability of our republic – domestic tranquility, common defense and general welfare. So, while these may be the times that once again try our souls, I believe it is a time for streamlining the bureaucracy that will try it as well.

Please see to these changes. Thank you. 

©2012 Steve Sagarra

2012 U.S. Presidential Election Results

 “A government policy to rob Peter to pay Paul can be assured of the support of Paul.” -George Bernard Shaw

Well, the election did not go as center-right pundits, including myself, predicted; frankly, it was a repudiation of common sense. Indicative of the country's entrenched ideological divide, 26 states (plus the District of Columbia) went Obama and 24 states went Romney. Consequently, the electorate chose dependency over individualism, while expecting different results from the same failed policies of the past four years. What it means is more debt, more unemployment and more entitlements over the next four years that will permanently toss the nation over the fiscal cliff a generation from now, if not sooner.

(Source:  270ToWin)

Not since President Franklin Roosevelt has an incumbent been re-elected with such a dismal economic outlook; only with the onset of World War Two that re-energized the might of free-market capitalism – rather than any prior fiscal policies enacted by Roosevelt’s administration – did the nation recover. If the United States continues on a similar path today, it is the end of American exceptionalism in favor of European collectivism – from the Greatest Generation that stoically fought against socialism to the Welfare Generation blindly embracing it.

(Source:  ThePeoplesCube)

English historian, Edward Gibbon, wrote of the fall of the Roman Empire, that “the decline of Rome was the natural and inevitable effect of immoderate greatness. Prosperity ripened the principle of decay; the causes of destruction multiplied with the extent of conquest; and as soon as time or accident had removed the artificial supports, the stupendous fabric yielded to the pressure of its own weight.” Let us pray that history is not ripe to repeat.

 

©Steve Sagarra 2012

2012 U.S. Presidential Election Prediction

The polls open in twenty-four hours, and it's time for a little prognostication. As many pundits see it, there are nine states - Colorado, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Virginia and Florida - and 125 electoral votes in play to decide the election. My prediction is Republican-nominee Mitt Romney wins Colorado, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Virginia and Florida, while President Barack Obama wins Pennsylvania and New Hampshire. As they say, the election is more Obama's to lose than it is Romney's to win.

In Wisconsin, Republicans withstood a bitterly contested recall election, and the vice-presidential nominee, Paul Ryan, is poised to deliver the state for his party. In Michigan, where Romney's late father, George Romney, was a respected auto industry executive and former governor, millions of auto workers, though unionized, look to re-ignite an American auto industry still in decline. Although traditionally Democratic strongholds, Pennsylvania's coal industry has seen reductions in production thanks to the current administration's energy policies, while a Romney-governed Massachusetts implemented a healthcare system - however one cares to consider it good or bad - without burdening taxpayers or the state. As governor, he also was able to pass a budget that curtailed the state's deficit, and voters could favor him as president given that record.

In my opinion, this is how the electoral map will shape up:

(Source:  270ToWin) 

©Steve Sagarra 2012