One of the most hilarious passages I read was in the book Dave Barry Slept Here when he talked about the Bill that mandated low-flow toilets. He used it as an example of an "Act of Congress" - likened to using said facility. My wife and I joke about it from time to time when the call of Nature is too strong to avoid, but more especially when it takes two or three flushes to take care of the results. ;)

I have floated several initiatives I think would serve to curb some level of spending in our nations capital, and the more I think about it, I would like to see the President's salary eliminated entirely. He and his family have their every need catered to including food, transportation, recreation, and security from the time he/she becomes elected to even far past the time they are out of office. And judging by the book deals and speaking engagements, it isn't as if they don't have a lucrative future ahead of them.

The other initiative I would float is to require all Senators and Congressmen and their staffs to be paid for by their respective States. You can bet this would trim some things down substantially and would eliminate the ability of Congress to vote itself monetary perks - including healthcare. It would also get rid of this ridiculous notion that Congressmen with some sort of tenure get benefits for life. The Founding Fathers went back to their homes, their fields, and their businesses even after adjourning a session. I see no reason why elected officials should be able to vote for themselves luxurious pension packages.

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Well said. In business, decisions have implications and accountability which are directly reflected in one's earnings and therefore livelihood. In business, one makes more profits by producing better products, operating more efficiently, or selling at lower prices than one's competitors. None of these factors come to bear when dealing with government initiatives.

I think one of the primary reasons we struggle so badly (and the struggle becomes even worse as government size increases) is precisely because of this perverse incentive structure: the only way that a government bureaucrat gets more money is to increase the size of his/her budget, and the only way they can do that is to justify their higher year-over-year spending by fudging the numbers. The problem we've grown into now is that the level of fudge has grown (as have the strict rules and regulations which force ever-increasing costs for compliance) and so we now have the problem where every government cost outstrips by a wide margin what could be accomplished by the private sector.

Crowder's hilarious. I love his street impersonations - like the one he did at a Bernie Rally.

Haven't read The Art of the Deal. I may get around to it, but my current reading includes Winston Churchill's complete (six-volume) history of WW II. It seems with Russia's latest moves it might be prudent to see the similarities.