Author: Ladmann

US Department of Education

Posted on by Ladmann

ED’s mission is to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access. ED was created in 1980 by combining offices from several federal agencies. ED’s 4,400 employees and $68 billion budget. Education is primarily a State and local responsibility in the United States. It is States and communities, as well as public and private organizations of all kinds, that establish schools and colleges, develop curricula, and determine requirements for enrollment and graduation. The structure of education finance in America reflects this predominant State and local role.

One final note: while ED’s programs and responsibilities have grown substantially over the years, the Department itself has not. In fact, the Department has the smallest staff of the 15 Cabinet agencies, even though its discretionary budget alone is the third largest, behind only the Department of Defense and the Department of Health and Human Services. In addition, the Department provides over $150 billion in new and consolidated loans annually.

– https://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/fed/role.html

Close the department. It has outlasted its usefulness. According to the ED data there are 13,600 public school districts in the US. $68,000,000,000/13,600= $5,000,000 to each district to spend as they see fit. [By the way the 4,400 ED employees could go to work in actual districts providing education. That would provide 3 FTEs per district at a cost of approximately $350,000 of the $5 million they receive.

 

FCC and Net Neutrality Come and Gone

Posted on by Ladmann

F.C.C. Approves Net Neutrality Rules, Classifying Broadband Internet Service as a Utility

 – https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/27/technology/net-neutrality-fcc-vote-internet-utility.html

The FCC Just Killed Net Neutrality. Now What?

– https://www.wired.com/story/after-fcc-vote-net-neutrality-fight-moves-to-courts-congress/

This is another good example of non-elected technocrats and political appointees creating rules that impact all of us.

“In fact, as planning becomes more and more extensive, it becomes regularly necessary to qualify legal provisions increasingly by reference to what is ‘fair’ or ‘reasonable’; this means that it becomes necessary to leave the decision of the concrete case more and more to the discretion of the judge or authority in question.”

– Hayek, F.A., The Road To Serfdom

Commerce Department?

Posted on by Ladmann

The Department of Commerce promotes job creation and economic growth by ensuring fair and secure trade, providing the data necessary to support commerce, and fostering innovation by setting standards and conducting foundational research and development. Through its 12 bureaus and 42,335 employees located in all 50 states and more than 86 countries. Current tax payer cost of = $9.5 billion each year! [http://www.osec.doc.gov/bmi/budget/FY18BIB/All508.pdf]

Who knows better what products to create, who to sell to, and who the competition is, than the company itself?   The Government?   Really?

California Debt Issue and a Train to Nowhere

Posted on by Ladmann

UNFUNDED STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT RETIREMENT OBLIGATIONS. If this analysis ended here, the total long-term debt owed by California’s state and local government entities would total $383.0 billion (including $27.8 billion in state budgetary borrowings which is arguably short-term debt).   Source:   http://californiapolicycenter.org/calculating-californias-total-state-and-local-government-debt.    And yet the state is spending an additional $68 billion with money we do not have on a train and we can not even keep the current roads repaired without additional taxes! REALLY?

Gun Control? Wrong Issue!

Posted on by Ladmann

It is easy and normal [unfortunately] to believe that government control is the answer. Government regulations and control is not going to change human behavior [never has review history]. More government control is not got to prevent bad/sick people from acting inappropriately [never has, review history]. Our current federal, state and local governments do not even enforce laws and regulations on the books! Let’s start there!

The Requirement for Controlled Government

Posted on by Ladmann

“…In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself. A dependence on the people is, no doubt, the primary control on the government…”

– The Federalist No. 51. James Madison, 1788.

Unfortunately, since 1960, about 50% of registered voters are not even voting! You Get what you don’t vote for.

We Want More Government Healthcare Spending? Really?

Posted on by Ladmann

US population from 1900-2016 increased from 76.1m to 324.3m = +326%. [https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/population]

Healthcare expenses as a % or GDP increased from .24% to 8% = +3,100% or almost 10x as much. [https://www.usgovernmentspending.com/healthcare_spending].

This increase is due primarily to government waste and interference with the health care profession and political promises that we can not afford. Since 1960 government health care spending = apprx. 1% GDP. By 2010s spending had increased to apprx. 5.7% GDP = +470% [ https://www.usgovernmentspending.com/healthcare_spending].

In 2013 the U.S. spent 17.1% of its total GDP on healthcare, 50% more than the second highest spending country, France (11.6%).[^ Squires, David; Anderson, Chloe. “U.S. Health Care from a Global Perspective”].

Government spending has allowed unaffordable increases in health care costs. This is sold to us as access to health care. Really?