Suggested Common Sense Resolution to the Federal and Minnesota Budget Impasse

First of all, you may ask, who am I to even propose a solution to what all of my state and federal elected officials cannot figure out how to resolve ?

According to my elected officials I am just a subject peasant in the Feudal hierarchy of the USA.

Then, from my personal point of view, I am not even being compensated. Yet, because it bothers me that my fellow Subjects, otherwise formerly referred to as WE THE PEOPLE in the constitution, are caused distress by the uncertainty this mess the Ruling Class has inflicted on us causes.

So, despite my obvious lack of qualifications as determined by the Ruling Class incumbent Politicians, I am going to take a common sense approach to the budget impasse of both the State of Minnesota and the Federal Government. Further, despite the appearance that none of our elected officials abide by the constitution and that they treat WE THE PEOPLE as though they rule us rather than represent us, I am going to give my opinion from the perspective of reality in which WE THE PEOPLE are the Sovereign Citizens of this Country, and where our Elected Officials are Public Servants not Royalty.

First some general observations and premises:

1) Based on previous budget impasses, these budget crises tend to be emotional, and as much emotion should be removed from the process as possible;

2) Based on previous budget impasses, these budget tend to become political, and much of the impasse is caused by jockeying for political position by the major political parties and this jockeying should be minimized to the extent possible;

3) Based on previous budget impasses, our taxpayer money ends up being used in the negotiations to buy votes for the reelection of the incumbents and this is JUST PLAIN WRONG;

4) Based on previous budget impasses, little or no waste and/or fraud is squeezed out in the process and WASTE AND FRAUD SHOULD BE SQUEEZED OUT OF THE BUDGET AT THESE TIMES;

5) Based on previous budget impasses, the two major political parties use this process to maintain their stranglehold on the political process using taxpayer money and this is wrong;

6) Based on previous budget impasses, little common sense and pragmatic method is used to balance the budget;

7) It is better than more money stay in the hands of WE THE PEOPLE in the private sector than is given to the Government;

8) It is stupid, wrong, unjust and amoral to shut down segments of the government that produce net revenue to the state(i.e revenue exceed variable costs) (e.g. lottery, driver and hunting licenses, parks, etc. )

9) The Common Sense of Family Dairy Farmer; Even in times of financial hardship, If the revenue from the milk produced exceed the cost of feeding and milking the cows, you feed and milk the cows. It is stupid, wrong, unjust and amoral to shut down segments of the government that have variable costs that will continue even with a shutdown. For example, the Minnesota Zoo, The animals still need to be fed and Staff are going to have to be there to feed and care for them. If the revenue exceeds the expense of having additional people there to take money, then keep the Zoo open.

10) The Common Sense of small business folks - The Government should handle its fiscal crisis like any small business would; Cut the things you hope your customers will least notice, not use it "As a Crisis" as suggested by Progressive Rahm Emanuel http://t.co/5Allzi2

11) The Common Sense of the middle and lower class families. If you have more money going out each month, make a list of expenditures and prioritize them from highest to lowest priority. House, Car, Food, Electricity, gas, water, etc. By definition, if you have more money going out each month than you have coming in, at some point you will have no money to pay anymore bills. It is far better to pay the most important things and then run out of money than it is to randomly spend money and be surprised at what important things there is no money left to pay for them with.

With all of those premises and perspectives of reality; the trick is to devise a method with minimizes the emotions, least effects the Citizens and results in the waste and fraud being squeezed out of the budget in Question.

THE COMMON SENSE, PRAGMATIC, LOWER DRAMA PROCESS

STEP ONE

Have every major Budget Item Department have all of its various subdivisions prioritize their expenditures from highest to lowest priority;

STEP TWO

Have every major budget Department head review and revise the recommendations of each of its subdivisions to give a final priority list to the Department head;

STEP THREE

Have the major Budget Item Departments prioritize the subdivision budgets from highest to lowest priority.

STEP FOUR

Have the major Budget Item Departments present its priority budget items with the related costs from highest to lowest priority.

STEP FIVE

Have the major Budget Item Departments provide their priority lists with numbers to Congress and any citizen and/or political party that wants them, presumably at least the two major political parties.

The most cost effective way of doing this being to post them on the internet in layman’s terms with no aggregates greater than $100.00; (with exception of budget items which cannot be released for National Security reasons emanating from threats outside of the USA)

STEP SIX

Have every major Budget Item Department that produces revenue give a report on whether they would have a "net profit" or "net loss" if they were shut down during a Government Shutdown.

STEP SEVEN

Have every major Budget Item Department head give an analysis of how much a shutdown of each one of their subdivisions who adversely (aka how essential they are) affect the citizens;

STEP EIGHT

Have the every major Budget Item Departments submit their results of Items 6 and 7 to Congress, and any Citizens and/or political party that wants them, presumably at least the two major political parties;

STEP NINE

Ask each major Budget Item Department Head and Subdivision to cut 10 to 33% or more of its budget; assuring those that make the deepest cuts with the least detrimental effects will be rewarded with future job security and promotion;

STEP TEN

Have each major Budget Item Department head submit their new numbers and revised priority list to Congress, and any Citizens and/or political party that wants them, presumably at least the two major political parties;

STEP ELEVEN

INVITE CITIZENS AND ACCOUNTING FORMS TO SUBMIT THEIR COMMENTS ON ALL OR ANY PORTION OF THE BUDGET THAT THEY SO DESIRE. (Allow Citizens and Accounting Firms with proper security clearances to see and comment budget items withheld from publlc viewing for security reasons)

STEP TWELVE

Have at least the two majory political parties (if not more) use the numbers and priorities developed thus far to make their own major Budget Item Department and subdivision priority lists;

STEP THIRTEEN

Have at least the two major poltical parties post their version of the priorities in a spreadsheet and post them on the internet.

STEP FOURTEEN

Have each version (with any political power) reconcile and merge their priority list into one master priority list.

STEP FIFTEEN

Now, from this final master budget priority list, from highest priority to lowest priority, deduct each budgets cost from the total revenue until the money runs out.

STEP SIXTEEN

POST THE BUDGET ON THE INTERNET IN LAYMAN’S TERMS WITH NO AGGREGATES GREATER THAN $100.00.

STEP SEVENTEEN

Unless it is determined that budget items that did not get funded are ESSENTIAL, then Congress must either cut expenditures from funded budget items or increase revenue.

STEP EIGHTEEN

UPON COMPLETION OF STEPS 16 AND 17, YOUR BUDGET IS FINAL AND YOUR BUDGET IMPASSE IS RESOLVED.

STEP NINETEEN

POST THE BUDGET ON THE INTERNET IN LAYMAN’S TERMS WITH NO AGGREGATES GREATER THAN $100.00 and maintain them there for at least 100 years.

STEP TWENTY

And that is your budget.

Unless a Budget Impasse is a contrived Crisis, I can think of no other logical way to tackle the problem with the least drama, resources and delay.

In closing, as I have previously pointed I am not being compensated in anyway for this budget impasse solution. Therefore, I leave it to our elected Public Servants to draft my budget impasse solution into legislation in conformance with the United States of America Constitution. Said legislation should minimize the distress and injury WE THE PEOPLE suffer in the event of future Government Shutdowns cause by budget impasses such as our country is enduring now.

Those were my thoughts.

Thank you, my fellow citizens, for taking to read and reflect upon what i have written.

I write this article with the same intentions as Thomas Paine http://ushistory.org/paine. I seek no leadership role. I seek only to help the American People find their own way using their own “Common Sense” http://amzn.to/kbRuar

In Liberty,

Don Mashak

The Cynical Patriot

http://twitter.com/dmashak