Thinking Ahead to 2008

OK, time to begin building the policy platform for 2008. Republicans need to really convince small government types, Libertarians and Reagan Republicans alike, that they will walk the small government walk. How? In addition to keeping the flame for reform - Social Security reform, tax reform, tort reform, free-market healthcare reform, drilling for domestic energy - forgo namby-pamby goals. Think big, make splash. Here are a few starting points:

• The Department of Education's budget is $89 billion. Cut it in half. Yes, half. Abandon all federal mandates and aid to states. Retain only those programs that benefit the lowest income Americans, say bottom 5%. The Department of Education has no bearing on the quality of education in this country.
• The Department of Health and Human Service's budget is $700 billion most of which is Medicare and Medicaid. Those are separate issues. For now, cut in half the approximately $70 billion of HHS's budget that is discretionary. Meals on Wheels? Nice in theory, but leave it to states and private citizens.
• The Department of Housing and Urban Development's budget is $31 billion. Kill the entire department. Yes, kill it. HUD is a patchwork of subsidies and grants that make housing more expensive and urban areas more dependent on the federal government. Devolve the responsibility to states.
• The Department of Energy's budget is $23 billion. Kill it. Biggest waste of money there is. Alternative fuels? Leave it to venture capital and the private sector. We'll have more, better, and cleaner energy as a result.
• The Department of Commerce's budget is $9. Small potatoes, but cut it in half anyway. Plenty of subsidies and protection that can and should go poof.
• The Department of Defense's budget is $400+ billion. Defense is important and cannot be done by the private sector. But there is ALOT of fat. Freeze the budget for 5 years, force the department to prioritize necessary projects over fat.
• The Department of the Interior's budget is $10 billion. Small spuds but kill it anyway. Let states steward their natural resources. Nobody cares for the land like the locals.

Much of this will shift fiscal burdens to states. Fine. Cut federal taxes so that citizens have more money to pay state tax increases and let the 50 states compete to provide efficient government. Bloated, inefficient state governments will lose residents, economic and political power. Efficient ones will win.

This advice is easy applicable to Democrats as well. Americans want honest government first and foremost and less government ultimately. If you want to keep this majority, you will need to show at least some propensity to admit the ineffectiveness and unnecessariness of certain government activities. Two to four years of "we are going to take things away from you for the common good" will land you back in the wilderness.