TW: So Obama is going to launch an initiative to "eliminate wasteful government programs". Thereby he becomes the 44th consecutive POTUS to do so. These initiatives are ubiquitous and quickly forgotten. Do I hope Obama's is more successful than the previous 43, absolutely and in fact I suspect he might just be a little more effective. But I have said numerous times, if one is serious about cutting spending (post this Great Contraction) then talk to us about entitlements and defense. Saving $3MM on consulting contracts for new government logos tastes great but really does not get it done.
Regardless this is good politics and should mitigate some of the cheap political shenanigans by which the Republicans constantly rail about "big government" but merely propose tweaking the things Obama will address with this initiative (as opposed to entitlements and defense). As few actually support "wasteful" spending unless of course it is for that extra prison or park you want built in your area.
From USA Today:
"President Obama said Saturday he will ask all of his department and agency heads for specific proposals for cutting their budgets at his Cabinet meeting early next week as he searches for ways to streamline government spending.
"In the coming weeks, I will be announcing the elimination of dozens of government programs shown to be wasteful or ineffective," he said. "In this effort, there will be no sacred cows and no pet projects. All across America, families are making hard choices, and it's time their government did the same."
...Obama said Jeffrey Zients, a CEO, management consultant and entrepreneur, will join the administration as the government's chief performance officer and will also serve as deputy director for management of the Office of Management and Budget. He will work to streamline processes and cut costs, Obama said.
...Obama said in his address that Cabinet officials were already taking steps to cut spending.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano "is ending consulting contracts to create new seals and logos that have cost the Department of Homeland Security $3 million since 2003," he said. And Defense Secretary Robert Gates "has launched a historic project to reform defense contracting procedures and eliminate hundreds of billions of dollars in wasteful spending and cost overruns."
He praised Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Carl Levin, D-Mich., who are leading the effort in Congress.
..."Earlier this week, President Obama said that we need to get serious about fiscal discipline by trimming waste in the federal budget," Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said in the GOP address. "Republicans couldn't agree more. We want to work with the president to get our financial house back in order."
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2009-04-18-obama-weekly-address_N.htm
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