Do American women need the Department of Labor (DOL)?
No.
I realize that not having the Department of Labor would make most Americans, politicians, and businesses uncomfortable but it’s the task and functions that are needed not the department. Therefore, the task and functions that are not duplicates done by other departments should stay intact and the DOL removed from the massive list of government departments.
Creating Change
An opportunity for evaluating and creating more effective governmental processes has been created with the resignation of Labor Secretary Alex Acosta. The DOL, like all government agencies, is part of a massive uncontrolled bureaucracy that waste money. President Trump’s administration needs to realize that the appointment of a new Labor Secretary and continuing the same processes will not change anything; it keeps the bureaucratic machine humming. There is no rush for the position to be filled; there are 80 people in leadership positions within the agencies with 15,765 to 17,000 full-time employees, according to the DOL website and other resources. That indicates the agency can function without a Labor Secretary until changes can be completed to ensure taxpayers are going to get a return on their investment.
DOL – 27 Agencies
Controlling government spending is the most significant opportunities to start creating financial stability for the nation. The country is trillions of dollars in debt, and it’s increasing every second. It’s time for Congress and the President to start thinking about America’s debt. I don’t care how our political employees spin the numbers; We are broke.
The United States operated at a $587 billion budget deficit in Fiscal Year (FY) 2016, representing approximately 3% of gross domestic product (GDP) and adding to the over $19 trillion in existing federal debt. Over the long term, this debt will have even greater impacts on the economic health of our nation—it is projected to continue to grow unless actions are taken to change how the federal government operates.
–Technology CEO Council, 2017
There are a variety of ideas that could be implemented but combining the DOL within other agencies, then offering early retirement for as many employees as possible and start outsourcing non-critical operations or transferring the responsibilities to Governors would be a great start. These moves would save American women money and begin a process of controlling government spending. The estimated billions of dollars that could be saved yearly by combined agencies that no longer duplicate the same daily task is one of the many examples that is supported by the 2019 GAO report given to Congressional members.
Where Is IBM’s Watson?
Along with rightsizing, outsourcing and combining the task and functions into other agencies the technology of the combined agencies needs to be updated. According to GOA 2019 report, government agencies’ technology was from 8 to 51 years old. Think about going to work and sitting at a desk with 25-year-old technology. The technology conditions that have been created by current and past Congressional members are a disgrace to the nation.
The U.S. government plans to spend over $90 billion this fiscal year on information technology. Most of that will be used to operate and maintain existing systems, including aging (also called legacy) systems. These systems can be more costly to maintain and vulnerable to hackers.
–GOA, 2019
The Building
William Jefferson Clinton Federal Building currently houses the Department of Labor. It would be an excellent opportunity to cohabitate with combined agencies and create a Women’s Museum that included a high-tech resource center. According to several 2017–2018 researched publications, funding for the elaborate plan could quickly come from stopping wasteful government spending like $22 million from the UFO program, $14 million from the inspecting catfish program, $3.4 million from studying aggression and anxiety on male hamsters, and $279 million from eliminating the DOE Advanced Research Projects Agency. Hell, ladies, we are going to have ourselves a beautiful museum with a high-tech resource center that can benefit women around the world.
Draining the Swamp
The phrase “drain the swamp” has been around since the 1980s and has been used as a campaign slogan by a lot of politicians. It is a phrase used for books and articles, and it is also one of President Trump’s campaign promises. One of his speeches included “It is time to drain the swamp in Washington, DC.” This is why I’m proposing a package of ethics reforms to make our government honest once again.” Changes to the DOL is a perfect fit for the statement and the nation.
Only President Trump can start draining the massive uncontrolled bureaucracy, fight the government employees’ union, and take on the media that will go after him 24/7 for wanting to improve American women’s lives.
No other president has ever attempted the rightsizing of the government; I’m guessing it’s because past presidents felt that Congressional members would not support them. They probably also feared the media and the union, while being nervous about losing political party contributions and the possibility of losing their next election. What’s best for the nation never made the list. I’m not sure President Trump has it in him to start reviewing and asking questions about the DOL’s $9.4 billion in discretionary budget spending, the additional mandatory funding of $33.9 billion, and the additional $66,000,000 planned spending between 2018 through September 30, 2019. If he does start asking questions it could create change that will start the nation on a path to financial stability and strengthen national security.
A large amount of debt could also harm national security by constraining military spending in times of crisis or limiting the country’s ability to prepare for a crisis.
–U.S. Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
For anyone unable to comprehend that Congress is out of control spending our money, please review any successful organization. For example, according to Home Depot Operating Expenses 2006-2019 | HD2018, annual revenue of $100.904B for Home Depot took care of approximately 400,000 employees at 2,200+ stores, tracked EVERY PENNY of $34.356B gross profit, controlled 1000s of inventoried products and tracked merchandise globally among other line items, while making an annual net income of $8.63B, an 8.46% increase from 2017. If you’re a Millennial, think of it this way: your student debt can be forgiven within a year from eliminating one agency and updating the technology.
I realize the government is not a business, but taxpayers should require Members of Congress, the President, and governmental department leadership to implement standards, update technology, and hire the right people to ensure that EVERY PENNY spent can be tracked, and results can be measured. It’s critical since a record of $1,665,484,000,000 in individual income taxes were collected for the 2018 tax year, according to monthly Treasury statements.
Americans need to start asking;
How will $1,665,484,000,000 be spent and tracked?
Who can Americans trust to be significant disrupters for the current system?
Who is aggressively blocking change?
“We don’t have a revenue problem; we all know we have a leadership problem.”
