The Answer is Less Government

The New York Times ran an editorial this morning on the “continuing shame” of the treatment of “native” Americans by the Department of the Interior, specifically the handling of the trust fund established over a century ago when reservations were broken up into individual parcels so the reservation lands could be plundered more easily by white men.

Imagine that, people taken advantage of by their own government, what a shock! C’mon people, get real. When has any government ever done anything else but feather their own nest? While it is unlikely that huge numbers of Interior Department staff have personally profited from scamming the Indians on this trust, I am sure they have made many a businessman wealthy.

Every day we watch the government spend billions of dollars without any real accounting. Every time the GAO or someone attempts to audit any government operation they find gross mismanagement, millions unaccounted for and usually some gross fraud as well. When you point out to a bureaucrat that one of their staff has mismanaged millions of your and my tax dollars, often using it for personal purchases, the response of the bureaucrat is usually along the lines of.

Oh! But they have worked here so long and been such a fine employee. How could we possibly let them go?

Well! We’ll certainly chastise them for that. How about two days off without pay? Will that do it?

Actions that, in the private sector, would result in firing and possibly prosecution are simply overlooked by bureaucrats who strive, in the best mandarin way, for the harmony of never having to be responsible for anything. As long as the tax dollars flow and their staffs don’t assault anyone with a gun, everything is just fine.

Until Americans insist on accountability from their elected officials and the bureaucrats they employee, this situation will never change. There are thousands of individuals working for the government who actually care about what they do . . . just as there are thousands who look upon government employment as a license to steal.

So why this editorial whining now about a problem that has existed for over a hundred years? All those who believe more and more government is the salvation of humanity should learn a lesson this. To quote a friend, “The answer is less government. Now what is the question?”