The Social Improvement Project

By now it should be pretty clear to most people that our government is not capable of responsibly spending our money. There are at least 14 trillion reasons out there today. Many of the governmental programs are also ineffective at helping people get back on their feet, and instead serve to keep them in struggling positions.

I wanted to take a moment to give a few examples of how we can restore productivity to higher levels in our country while reducing our national debt as well as the overall size of our government.

One of the first ways is to increase the efficiency of programs that offer public assistance. Some examples include having effectiveness measurements in place with goals set, making sure there are more programs designed to get people healthier and back to work (rather than our current sick-care industry that keeps people unhealthy and unproductive) and having forward progress requirements as part of the assistance. The goal for most of these people should be to get them back on their feet, but many have assumed the identity of someone who is incapable of fully functioning. I don’t say this to offend anyone, as there are of course cases where people do require a lifetime of assistance, but having worked in various parts of the non-profit and healthcare industries I have seen a large number of people who have become “disabled” by the system itself who would otherwise be perfectly capable of working.

Having less people on government assistance means of course greater productivity, which in itself creates more jobs and more taxpayers. Right there we start cutting the expenses while also increasing the income as a nation.

Another way is to reduce military spending. I’m not talking about a reduction of military personnel, which would cut jobs, but a reduction of overall spending. For example, some foreign policy makers and defense department personnel feel that we must have a continual presence in places that are not necessary. Another example is actually close to where I’m currently located, where there is a large artillery manufacturing operation that apparently builds, stores and detonates bombs on a continual basis. Is that necessary? There are other defense contractors that I’m sure are wasteful in their operations and spending that could easily be cut back.

An overhaul of our criminal justice programs and policies is a huge area as well. The United States has one of, if not the highest incarceration rates in the world, and there are over two million people behind bars in America right now. Amending sentencing laws and implementing better reform programs would not only cut the immediate costs of housing so many inmates, but also would dramatically reduce the re-offender and recidivism rates.

By reducing costs in many areas we would actually be able to start paying people who work in the military, or as teachers, police officers, firefighters and other jobs higher wages because there would be more money available for it. We would also have more money for building better roads and improving infrastructure for further economic growth and development.

There are so many examples of ways to cut costs and increase productivity that many people in the private sector can clearly see, yet the bureaucracy that gets our tax dollars for some reason cannot balance the budget or produce much positive change.

On a personal level, there are other ways to improve social change through non-profit work. People should be encouraged to volunteer and/or donate to non-profit organizations, especially those that are designed to help others help themselves, such as learning trades and life skills so they can be more self-sufficient and re-enter the workforce. If more people adopted the idea that we are all here to help and serve others in some fashion or another then there would be less need or greed and a much better society overall.

I think the bottom line is that WE are the ones who put people in office, and clear messages need to be sent to Washington, D.C. about what they are supposed to do. They work for US, but many of them think it is the other way around. Don’t believe me? Try going to Capitol Hill and see how many elected officials will truly listen to you, especially when there isn’t an election on the horizon. Even if you get a meeting at their D.C. office look into their eyes and see how well they are listening to what you have to say and understanding what you are telling them, or if they are instead just counting down the few minutes you have been allowed with some smiling and nodding. If you feel your Senator or Representative is really there and listening to you, then you’re one of the lucky few.

What are some of the ways you see we could cut spending and reduce our dependency on government?