In 1789, the French people had enough of the monarchy. They stormed the Bastille prison, freed the prisoners, and not long after, King Louis the XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette, met their demise.
Sometimes that incident resonates in this country, where, no matter what party is in power, Washington, D.C. has no clue what's really going on in the rest of the country.
But I would propose a reverse Bastille Day. Let's just ignore the federal government. A lot of people are upset that the federal government is cutting funds going to state and local governments and individuals. But the thing is, there is no real money anyway. Much of the budget is just borrowed money. And even though it was mostly printed money, we and the state and cities got boatloads of free money during the pandemic. So let the feds keep their money. Maybe it will help the deficit a little.
The states and local governments need to fund whatever programs they want on their own. And once the locals prove they can be trusted with our money, we need to approve the higher taxes.
Here in Oregon, the politicians and bureaucracies could find tons of money if they were just more efficient. We approve lots of taxes but it all seems to go into a black hole with no results. But, also, labor and material costs keep going up, so more money is needed for that. And on the other hand, they could stop spending millions on consultants and just use their employees, who are already getting paid.
And by not taking state or federal funds, we don't have to pay compliance people and do paperwork to satisfy state or federal requirements.
I figure federal cuts are an opportunity to get to more responsive government.
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