Herr ‘Puterkrank writes:

JS asks ‘Puter (and the other Gormogons—hint, hint) to opine as to what budget cuts he recommends.

The Czar has no idea what budget cuts JS recommends. But the Czar will comment on his own royal thoughts. But remember, you are asking a guy who carries an axe.

The problem, as usual, is that ‘Puter is right—the current budget is in total denial of the fiscal situation. Drastic cuts are required which need not be permanent, but frankly would likely not be missed once gone. And the Czar therefore sees the problem as a holistic one, not merely a small nip and tuck. Weight loss requires a combination of reduced caloric intake (diet) coupled with caloric output (exercise). The budget is like hoping to lose weight by trimming toenails, getting a haircut, taking off one’s shoes and socks, and then getting on a scale to hope that all adds up to two pounds.

And as ‘Puter says, the current budget attempts to cut costs by spending 7% more than last year’s budget. Whaaaa?

The Czar thinks something powerful must be done that will be woefully unpopular for anyone except the average American citizen. These thoughts include but are not limited to:

• Announce the phase out of Social Security. Make it in every taxpayer’s interest to get a personal retirement account. Your employer can provide this via a reformed 401(k) or 403(b) [and by reformed, the Czar means increased contributions and easier ability to move, add, and change packages without penalty], IRAs or other. Anyone who earns money but cannot independently find a worthwhile retirement plan even today is an idiot who deserves nothing. Phasing out means that if you are 90% of the way toward retirement, you get 90% of your money back, and so on down to 0%. People entering the workforce will need to provide for their own retirement exactly. Meantime, you can follow ‘Puter’s recommendations to prevent those closest to retirement from starving.
• The Czar likes ‘Puter’s ideas on Medicaid and Medicare reform.
• Reorganize the Executive Branch of the government. Eliminate as many departments as possible and consolidate any necessary functions that remain. USDA, DOC, ED, DOE, HHS, HUD, DOL, and the DOT could probably go bye-bye. Some of their necessary functions (the DOC has responsibility for the census, for example, as well as the Patent & Trademark Office and NOAA serve useful functions that can be under the Executive Branch but not necessarily these bloated departments under which they now serve).
• Other departments need gutting. DHS is a travesty that completely fails to meet the needs under which it was formed—it simplifies nothing. The DOJ needs massive reformation. What does the ATF still do that States cannot provide for less? The NDIC? COPS? And do we need a separate DEA, or can this be assigned to the FBI? You can probably find all sorts of places to consolidate and cut, rather than simply add.
• If you work for anything with the name Quasi-Official, you are in trouble. The Smithsonian is a great institution, but it can function like any other museum collective in the country and fend for itself or be supported by the city of Washington, DC, like museums in other cities. Moreover, click here to see a list of groups begging to be cut.
• The military does not escape the Czar’s wrath. Of course, it does an awful lot for us, and almost everything can be justified—most attempts to eliminate weapons or personnel that are outmoded or set up for theaters in which we no longer operate wind up biting us in the ass within 10 years. But the Czar said almost everything. One of the best proposals the Czar has heard is to eliminate most of the non-combat support staff for higher officers and instead staff them with disabled veterans. Many veterans have lost their legs for our country but would do anything to serve us again. Fine! They can scan documents, do data processing, handle logistics, and monitor communications stateside. A soldier with one eye or loss of hearing from a head wound can be a perfect aide-de-camp to a general or colonel. A marine with a permanent back injury can work in a mess or provide coffee. Many of these heroes could, with minor adjustments to how we do it, fulfill honor guard and band duties. It would save pennies on hundreds of dollars of spending, but would nevertheless be a real cut.
• You have read ‘Puter’s ideas about budgeting reform. Yes! And you already know of our group’s many recommendations on healthcare, unemployment insurance, immigration, elimination of government pensions and union activity, and so forth that would save many millions over years (or more). We stand by all of them.

Yes, we need to be this serious. The Czar is no supporter of Mitch Daniels yet, but agrees that we are merely kissing the iceberg of financial disaster facing this country, and we should accept this as a threat—and respond as seriously as we did in the Cold War to it.

And again—maybe in five years we can afford to fund the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation again with $28.3 million. But do we really think we will miss it?

The Czar of Muscovy

Божію Поспѣшествующею Милостію Мы, Дима Грозный Императоръ и Самодержецъ Всероссiйскiй, цѣсарь Московскiй. The Czar was born in the steppes of Russia in 1267, and was cheated out of total control of all Russia upon the death of Boris Mikhailovich, who replaced Alexander Yaroslav Nevsky in 1263. However, in 1283, our Czar was passed over due to a clerical error and the rule of all Russia went to his second cousin Daniil (Даниил Александрович), whom Czar still resents. As a half-hearted apology, the Czar was awarded control over Muscovy, inconveniently located 5,000 miles away just outside Chicago. He now spends his time seething about this and writing about other stuff that bothers him.