Threats are flying! Gigantic financial slashes will be made if the sequester budget cuts are allowed to occur. Doesn’t this sound like a re-run of the past? Even most of the names are the same. It would almost appear constituents enjoy all the bickering and bullying.
One day we are told cuts will be made in education, the next it’s health care and on and on. Will our country ever find a level playing field again? Will our elected congresspersons ever find a way to agree on anything?
A major threat of budget cuts passed around this past week involved air travel. A big hue and cry went up when the TSA announced cuts would be made in inspections via a plan to reduce its number of employees. In my flying time over the past few years, I’ve determined the inspectors seem to be bumping into one another as they hold up the lines of people hoping to catch a flight.
I watched an inspector stop an entire baggage check area because someone left a little change in a basket. What’s the problem? If someone left a pair of shoes and a Bic lighter in a basket, I could see a major holdup. Concern over the reduction in the number of inspectors is ridiculous; the only people they seem to check are the elderly. Persons I’ve witnessed being taken aside and buzzed with wands did not appear threatening in any way.
The Secret Service is also on the chopping block for cuts. I suggest they cut back the team that watches the president. This could result in him staying at the White House to prepare his speeches to Congress. We could collect the guns from the laid off bodyguards, take them to a big gun show and sell them. The money earned could be used to reduce our national debt.
After grounding some of the president’s guards, we could move on to House and Senate members. If we limit their travel, along with the number of Secret Service personnel they need to do so, we could save a bunch of money. Planes, trains and automobile fuel add up to a lot of it — at a huge cost to the taxpayers. If Congress stuck around Washington more, they might even learn the meaning of the word “govern.”
While looking for good ways to cut the budget, let’s get rid of a few federal judges. All they seem to do is pass their decisions on to the next guy — higher up the chain. Perhaps we should just start at the top and enforce every fine levied — pay or jail time. We would collect a lot of cash for the cause. What is a $1,000 bond — 10 percent? So it’s just $100, why make it sound like so much, let’s just collect it and put it in our bank. If the person bonding out is found not guilty, give them their money back, with the same 0.01 percent they would have earned if it was in the bank.
If law enforcement personnel were more empowered, we could cut down on drug traffickers, drunk drivers and kids carrying weapons. We might even be able to help some young people avoid ruining their lives. If penalties were harsher, enforced to the limits, the need for them would diminish.