Limited government or limited and small government?

With President Trump in his second term this question has garnered new relevance!

As a classical liberal I am all for limited and small government with term limits for all elected representatives!

Unfortunately, since World War II Western democracies have shown a strong tendencies to overregulate, to pass too many laws (and rarely if ever remove obsolete laws), and to concentrated too much power with the central government.

Unfortunately, term limits for elected representatives in Western democracies is a taboo. Only the US President is term limited (there might be some other exceptions).

Devolution of power in Western countries from central to lower levels of government is also long overdue reform!

The import of the record long federal government shutdown

Probably, most Americans (except for federal employees) did not even notice, at least not until the very end when SNAP payments were at risk and some domestic flights were cancelled!

This was a great and rare social experiment at scale!

President Trump and the GOP would be well advised to take this opportunity to massively downsize the federal government. Thereby, also significantly reducing the unsustainable accumulated federal government debt and annual federal government deficits.

Never let a crisis go to waste! as Rahm Emanuel (Former White House Chief of Staff of President Obama and more recently Ambassador to Japan) used to famously say.

154,000 Bureaucrats Finally Exit Federal Payroll This Week accepting buyout before the government shutdown

Good news! Bravo! President Trump is becoming the most consequential US President since Reagan! 

"This represents the largest one-year exodus of federal workers in 80 years ...

“The official resignations begin on Tuesday for workers who opted into a deferred exit program that kept them on the payroll through September,” the report adds. “The buyouts are a cornerstone of President Donald Trump’s push to shrink the federal workforce, combining financial incentives with threats of dismissal for those who declined the offer.” ..."

Nolte: 154,000 Bureaucrats Finally Exit Federal Payroll This Week "The 154,000 federal bureaucrats who accepted President Trump’s buyouts will all be removed from the federal payroll this week."

Hopefully President Trump will use this government shutdown to drastically downsize federal government!

This is perhaps his best opportunity during his second term! 

President Trump has warned the Dimocratic Party this would happen if they insist on ridiculous demands regarding the budget.

The Dimocratic Party represented by the senile, dubious Chuck Schumer and the fool Hakeem Jeffries will not make this amateur mistake again to dismiss a reasonable budget compromise.

Will President Trump become the most consequential US president since Reagan? He is on his way!

President Trump fired over 7300 probationary employees of the Internal Revenue Service

Good news! Bravo! That is a different kind of tax reform to lower overall taxation! Towards small and limited government!

According to Google: "As of September 2024: The IRS had 99,001 employees." Still thousands too many!

This article idly muses about whether these termination were justified and whether there were any performance issues.

"... Now, a new report from government watchdog the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration has confirmed that of the 7,315 workers terminated, just 43 were documented underperformers. Almost 50% of the fired employees had been appraised as working at or above expectations, and the rest had no recorded performance issues. ..."

Watchdog finds less than 1% of IRS workers fired during DOGE purge had documented performance issues

Like Reagan, Trump is slashing environment regulations, EPA budget and staff. Really!

Good news! For the past 50 years or so environmentalism has become a pseudo religion or fetish! Environmental protection has been well established and practiced for several decades in Western countries.

Thus, less environmental bureaucracy is probably justified!

Plus, I suspect that other agencies and departments of the federal government have taken over some of the environmental tasks of the EPA. Thus, there is a suspicion of duplication of efforts.

"Trump’s EPA budget plan for 2026 includes a draconian 50% cut from the previous year and the lowest budget proposal, when adjusted for inflation, since Reagan. Staff cuts in just the first six months of the second Trump administration put the agency’s total employment at 12,448, down from 16,155 in January. ..."

Like Reagan, Trump is slashing environment regulations, but his strategy may have a far deeper impact

Notice, the 46th President has already cut the EPA budget to the lowest level since President Carter.

Trump is shrinking the National Security Council from 400 to under 150 staff

Good news! What a bloat! Who needs so many talking heads!

"The NSC’s staff is now fewer than 150 compared with around 400 in previous administrations. The president has curtailed their role in overseeing national security decisions and instead is turning to a small circle of senior advisers. “Maybe previous administrations wanted to tell everyone everything to make them feel good, but we don’t really care if your feelings are hurt. We just need to get a job done,” said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. Other officials and critics warn this approach has hurt—not helped—the Trump administration."

The Wall Street Journal What's news

An anonymous NSC staffer. His/her non disclosed identity was covered up with a mask. 😊

At least 600 CDC employees sent termination notices, some question timing

Good news! Shrink the bloated federal government! No agency should be exempted!

Rubio's Plans To Slash or Consolidate More Than 300 Offices of the State Department, cutting staff by about 15%

Good news! Downsizing the over decades bloated bureaucracy is a good idea! Do more with less fog at Foggy Bottom! 😊

Unfortunately, the article does not say how much taxpayers' money is saved!

"... On Thursday, Rubio notified Congress of some of the plan’s particulars. The elimination or consolidation of more than 300 department offices amounts to nearly 45% of the state department’s state side offices. ...

Before Rubio’s time in Foggy Bottom, the State Department had nearly 750 offices. These offices often had duplicative or overlapping authorities and responsibilities. In April’s preliminary plans, the State Department was aiming to close 132 offices and consolidate 137 more. The closure or consolidation of these offices would come with massive staffing changes as well: Rubio ordered undersecretaries and other top officials to develop plans to cut their respective staffs by 15%. ..."

Rubio's Plans To Slash or Consolidate More Than 300 Offices

Elon Musk thanks President Trump as he leaves government service

Bravo! Job well done! Thanks for your services! 

Do it again next year, but get a better chainsaw next time! 😊

Musk thanks President Trump as he leaves government service | Just The News "Musk was designated a "special government employee" on Inauguration Day, which allows civilians to work for the federal government for 130 days a year. The status is expected to expire on May 30."

Trump, Rubio shrink the staff of the National Security Council by half

Good news! Shrink the bloated federal government!

"President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have orchestrated a vast restructuring of the National Security Council, reducing its size and transferring many of its powers to the State and Defense departments. ...

"The NSC is the ultimate Deep State. It's Marco vs. the Deep State. We're gutting the Deep State," the official said of the move, which will cut the NSC staff to about half of its current 350 members. ..."

Scoop: Trump, Rubio take sledgehammer to National Security Council

By slashing State Department budget nearly in half, Marco Rubio aims to make agency relevant again

Good news! Bravo! Downsize the bloated federal government!

"President Donald Trump's chief diplomat urged senators on Tuesday to slash his agency’s budget in half and touted plans for a lean department devoid of the bloated bureaucracy that he argues made the agency increasingly irrelevant. 

Rubio’s plan to nearly halve the State Department’s budget, even after it absorbed the U.S. Agency for International Development, makes it among the most dramatic of agency cuts in the Trump administration. ..."

By slashing State Department budget nearly in half, Rubio aims to make agency relevant again | Just The News "Secretary of State Rubio’s testimony on Tuesday shows the Trump administration wants to return the State Department to its core function in implementing U.S. foreign policy."

Hegseth directs 20% cut to top military leadership positions

Good news! Over time government bloat develops everywhere! Leaner and meaner!

"Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday directed the active duty military to shed 20% of its four-star general officers as the Trump administration keeps pushing the services to streamline their top leadership positions. ..."

Hegseth directs 20% cut to top military leadership positions

More than 15,000 employees at USDA have accepted offer to resign

Good news! Bravo! We like a limited and small government! The federal government has become a Leviathan over the decades! Trimming the bloat is necessary!

"Key Details:

• 15,182 USDA employees have accepted the voluntary resignation offer.
• The resignation program allows employees to receive pay through September despite their early departure.
• Forest Service and Food Safety units are among the hardest hit, with thousands leaving due to upcoming budget reductions.

"

MxM News: More than 15,000 employees at USDA have accepted offer to resign

White House to ask Congress to trim $9 billion from budget, including cuts to USAID and PBS

Good news! Bravo! Shrink the Leviathan! Towards a return to small and limited government!

Viva USA and Argentina!

White House to ask Congress to trim $9 billion from budget, including cuts to USAID and PBS | Just The News "The full rescission package is expected to be formally presented to Congress when it returns from its Easter recess on April 28."

President Trump Can Fire up to 2.9 Million Federal Workers

Happy firing! Bravo!

Make federal government small and limited again!

If President Trump fires them all, this would mean possibly about the entire federal civilian workforce. Is that realistic?

"... In particular, they’re terrified Trump will impose an executive order known as Schedule F, which would give him the power to hire and fire tens of thousands of bureaucrats who are in “policy-determining or policy-advocating positions.

Estimates range between tens of thousands up to 50,000—a solid start to draining the swamp, particularly given policy-advocating bureaucrats are the mother ship of deep state resistance.

CNN breathlessly calls it the biggest change since 1883, which is when the modern independent bureaucracy—the deep state—was born. ..."

Trump Can Fire 2.9 Million Federal Workers

Elon Musk is NOT a threat to democracy. He’s a threat to smothering, excessive bureaucracy and big government

Headline of the day!

Elon Musk is NOT a threat to democracy. He’s a threat to BUREAUCRACY. | Blaze Media

Trump administration announces 75,000 government employees have accepted federal buyout offer

Good news! Bravo! Da capo! Trump is in office for less than 30 days! Stunning! Breathtaking!

Going at this speed, he certainly pleases the Founding Fathers and Mothers!

Yes, make government small and limited again! Slay the leviathan President Trump!

Trump administration announces 75K government employees have accepted federal buyout offer | Just The News "A spokesperson for the OPM confirmed the number to NBC News, which amounts to less than 5% of the federal workforce. There are currently approximately 2.3 million federal employees."

Argentinien macht es vor: Bürokratieabbau mit Kettensäge

Empfehlenswerte Idee! 

Wieviele Amtsschimmel wiehern in der Bananenrepublik? 

Wieviele Gesetzestexte und Verwaltungsvorschriften gibt es? Für jedes neues Gesetz oder Vorschrift sollten mindestens 10 alte abgeschafft werden.

Entschlackung/Verschlankung des Staates sind seit Jahrzehnten angesagt und angefordert! Getan hat sich wenig!

Wieviele Bundestagsabgeordnete seit der Wiedervereinigung hat der Bundestag?

Federico Sturzenegger ist der argentinische Minister für Deregulierung und Staatstransformation.

Hinweis: Ich habe den Artikel nicht gelesen.

Argentinien macht es vor: Bürokratieabbau mit Kettensäge "Argentiniens Präsident Milei hat den Ökonomen Federico Sturzenegger beauftragt, Regulierung und Bürokratie einzudämmen. Davon lässt sich lernen."

USAID staff to be cut to 294 employees from 10,000, sources say

Good news! Bravo! Shrink and rebuild with common sense functions!