A Debt Reduction Plan

by JIM BEERS

Federal spending is THE problem. Whether we raise taxes or “fees”; whether we tax the rich or “share the burden” by getting the 51% of the country that pays no taxes to pay some taxes: the following prescription to reduce Federal expenditures hundreds of billions immediately, trillions “over the next ten years”, all the while increasing federal revenues by invigorating the rural American economy.

STEP 1. Reduce Federal land management expenses. Consolidate & Eliminate.

Since Wilderness Areas are simply closed and unmanaged lands – put them all in the National Park Service.
Since National Forests are no longer resource management areas benefiting human activities, local economies, local governments, and the states where they are located – put them all in the National Park Service.
Since the US Fish and Wildlife Service works overtime to eliminate hunting on National Wildlife Refuges and to convert managed wetlands into dry “native ecosystems”- put them all in the National Park Service.
Since the Bureau of Land Management, like the US Forest Service, closes grazing leases; eliminates forest management; cooperates with radical groups to “List” more species to stop hunting, trapping, and fishing; like USFWS and NFS hires ideologues yearning to “close” and “protect” everything” - put them in the National Park Service.
Put all the “Scenic” Rivers, “Scenic” Byways (and their “Viewsheds”), “Conservation” Easements, “Roadless” Areas, and o9t6her assorted Federal landholdings – into the National Park Service.
Since the National Park Service (no resource management and closely monitored, restricted human presence) is the “Queen Bee” for all this federal land mischief of the last century the whole Federal shebang should be put there.
Then eliminate all the federal “foresters”, “refuge ‘managers’”, “range specialists”, “park rangers” and all their assorted ticks and fleas like “Interpreters”, “archeologists”, public “use??” specialists and all their “administrators”, “diversity coordinators”, “Directors”, “Deputy Directors”, “Assistant Directors”, “Chiefs” (sounds like the Endangered Species chant about “species, subspecies, races, populations, distinct populations, district population segments…..” doesn’t it?)
Since there is no longer any “management”, only regulation writing and “enforcement”: leave two regulation writers in Washington and turn over “enforcement” to Homeland Security. The savings would be immediately in the hundreds of billions of dollars and would be hundreds of billions of dollars per annum ad infinitum (the means a long time). Homeland Security could check gates as the roam in search of whatever and DEA could fly over it occasionally as they check for drug stuff, and since the only real task is to make sure no one cuts a tree or shoots an animal or utilizes any forage so that it can all burn down routinely the federal expenditure savings would be enormous.

STEP 2. SIMPLIFY FEDERAL LAWS.

Repeal or significantly amend the Endangered Species Act, Animal Welfare Act, Wilderness Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act, and the various Law “Authorizations” that have empowered USFWS, USFS, NPS, and BLM over the past 50 years to become national powers inimical to the US Constitution. The laws must be adjusted to make their original intents (forest management, wildlife management and use, preservation of individual sites, etc.) consistent with a limited federal role consistent with the US Constitution, state’s rights, private property, and the use and management of natural resources.
Nearly as many bureaucrats and budget “dollars for power” giveaways (End. Sp. Grants, “Designated preservation Area” funds, “Scenic Area grants”, etc., etc.) could be eliminated. The savings would exceed (due to all the “giveaway bucks”) Step 1 and would similarly add up to a Trillion or two in “10 years”. The disappearance of all the “wolf”, grizzly”, “snail darter”, “sandfly”, “bat”, et al “experts” would exactly track the evaporation of money and power for their pet career builders.

STEP 3. Elect a President that would review all federal landholdings and reduce them by at least 60 %.

Such a reduction would force a rationale for what the 40 (or less) percent of land would be used for by federal landlords, the “close it and let it burn” crowd would never prevail in an open dialogue.
First preference for federal lands should be state governments. Second preference should be businesses like ranching, logging, and other revenue generating activities –continued public access could easily be a condition of such transfers.
This would generate an economic revitalization of rural American communities, state tax revenues, AND yes federal income tax revenues. Like the previous two steps, there would be immediate “savings” and the increased prosperity and welfare of rural America over “the next 10 years” would be spectacular.

But what do I know? I’m no economist. I’m no politician. To make things worse, this “plan” only covers 2 ½ pages so you “wouldn’t have to pass it to see what’s in it”. Further, updating my old Senator’s (Ev Dirksen R IL) wisecrack, “a Trillion here, a trillion there and pretty soon we are talking about real money”.

The Debt issue is, next to Islamic Terror, the greatest threat to our nation. Whatever happens, or doesn’t happen with taxes (or whatever you call them) SPENDING MUST BE CUT! If we are to maintain an adequate defense and the human services we all seem to cherish – then this proposal takes us a long way down the road to achieving that end.

Jim Beers
6 August 2011

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This article and other articles written by Jim Beers since January 2009 can
be found at http://jimbeers7.blogster.com (Jim Beers Uncommon Sense)

Articles by Jim Beers written from March 2006 to January 2009 can be found
at http://jimbeers.blogster.com (Jim Beers Common Sense)

Jim Beers is a retired US Fish & Wildlife Service Wildlife Biologist, Special Agent, Refuge Manager, Wetlands Biologist, and Congressional Fellow. He was stationed in North Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska, New York City, and Washington DC. He also served as a US Navy Line Officer in the western Pacific and on Adak, Alaska in the Aleutian Islands. He has worked for the Utah Fish & Game, Minneapolis Police Department, and as a Security Supervisor in Washington, DC. He testified three times before Congress; twice regarding the theft by the US Fish & Wildlife Service of $45 to 60 Million from State fish and wildlife funds and once in opposition to expanding Federal Invasive Species authority. He resides in Eagan, Minnesota with his wife of many decades.

Jim Beers is available to speak or for consulting at jimbeers7@comcast.net