The Public Backs Cutting Government Waste

Commentary

If a business were losing money fast, sinking into debt, suffering from inefficiency, and engaging in some dubious financial practices, nobody would question the need for new leadership to step in and implement fundamental reforms. Some people would lose their jobs, some units of the business might be shuttered, and money going out the door would be reevaluated and, perhaps, trimmed here and cut there. As long as it appeared fair and open—no cronyism or favoritism, no golden parachutes for the people who created the mess in the first place—outside observers wouldn’t complain or criticize.

This is how President Donald Trump’s efforts to reform and rein in the executive branch appear to ordinary Americans. They look at the current debt, a figure that deserves the adjective “grotesque,” and insist that shrinkage must happen. They learn of how much money has gone to foreign countries, and they grumble, “What about us?” They hear of how many federal workers and offices are devoted to diversity, equity, and inclusion measures and practices that have meager support with the general public, and they’re disgusted. The illegal immigrant crisis infuriates them when they realize that the federal government has manufactured it.

New stories and speeches by Democrats that accuse Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency team of heedless destruction cause little change in their opinions. The plain facts strike them too deeply. Last year, a friend took a flight from the Midwest, settling in nicely with an empty seat beside her. However, at the last minute, the flight attendants held the door so a crowd of people could enter and take all the unoccupied places. They were from Central America, she guessed, but she didn’t want to inquire because the woman who sat next to her was coughing and sniffling the whole trip. Others in the group seemed to be doing the same. The regular passengers probably felt charitable toward the newcomers, but couldn’t help wondering: What’s going on? Where are these people from, and where are they going? Who’s paying for this?

It’s the kind of immediate experience that cancels idealistic visions of “global citizenship” and the (presumed) obligation to welcome all migrants. They have practical questions that the previous administration didn’t answer: “How many people? How many dollars?” Americans are generous, and they want a strong federal government, but they think, “This is crazy.”

In 2023, the Institute of Museum and Library Services awarded the Queens College Graduate School of Library and Information Studies $313,318 for a “research project to understand why BIPOC teens read Manga (Japanese comics).” No amount of academic rationalization will blunt the commonsense reaction to such exotic expenditures. Older Americans remember President Ronald Reagan’s quip about what he called the “nine most terrifying words in the English language” that one could ever hear: “I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.”

On the other side, older Democrats recall with pride President Bill Clinton’s fiscal management of the Washington leviathan, which balanced the federal budget and eliminated the deficit. (Vice President Al Gore was charged with leading Clinton’s “Reinventing Government” initiative, which ended up cutting 250,000 jobs.)

Yes, the image of Musk brandishing a chainsaw sends a crude message, but the general intention, apart from the “Make America Great Again” style, has widespread approval. Political players in Washington (where I live) have a perspective that doesn’t stray far outside the Beltway. The ups and downs of party rivalries and inside baseball shape their impressions of social realities too much. The polls they consult aren’t as reliable as they think. Ordinary Americans don’t care about Washington gamesmanship and behind-the-scenes power contests. They aren’t invested in government programs that have nothing to do with them. They want the government to be less profligate and bureaucratic and (in the most general sense of the word) political.

The Trump administration is going to continue the reforms in spite of Democrat resistance and judges ruling against the president. He is confident of popular support, as the public does appear to favor common sense. A smart Democrat would, on this issue, start speaking once again like Clinton and Gore.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.