We all know that the current atmosphere in Washington, D.C. can be described as dysfunctional.  I’ve been giving a lot of thought to ways that our dysfunctional political system could be fixed.  Here’s what I’ve come up with.

8 Solutions to the Dysfunctional Political System in America

Today, I'll expand on solution #5:

Balanced Budget Amendment and Massive Restructuring of the Federal Government—Not

only does this help to stop the profligate waste of taxpayer money in the federal government,

it would devolve many powers that have been usurped by the federal government back to the

states. After all, it’s easy to spend other people’s money, and the Congress is pretty good at

that. First, we need to substantially reduce the size of the federal government by restructuring

departments to reduce overlapping programmes and eliminating a number of departments,

agencies, and programmes. For example, the Departments of Education, Energy, and Housing

& Urban Development, just to name a few, could be permanently eliminated with education

being devolved to the states. Second, once the federal government has been restructured and

cut to a more manageable level, the Congress can develop a balanced budget rule with caps on

spending increases. The Congress would then have to work within the framework of how much

revenue has been generated to fund government departments and programmes. With less size

and scope of the federal government and limitations on spending, members of the Congress

would be forced to be more judicious when it comes to spending and would be required to

work within strict guidelines. Thus, the Congress wouldn’t be debating endlessly about deficits

and raising the debt ceiling. Not only is a leaner, more efficient federal government in the

best interests of the American taxpayers, it is also an effective means of streamlining incessant

budget debates over bloated departments. What taxpayer wouldn’t agree that tightening the

purse string is a good idea, particularly when it comes to members of the Congress who control

spending and don’t seem to care how much they spend?