How Democrats--and Republicans--can get the American people to spend their hard earned money on their pet agencies and programs.
Peter Drucker provided the answer more than three decades
Democrats—and most Republicans—are big spenders. Make no mistake about it, the Democrats and Republicans have voted for federal budgets with massive annual deficits propelling the national debt to more than $36 trillion. The Washington Party—a term I coined more than 50 years ago to describe the feckless Democrats and Republicans—have shown no fiscal restraint since then.
If the federal government had followed Thomas Jefferson’s insight that “To compel a man to furnish funds for the propagation of ideas he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical,” federal spending would be a fraction of what it is today. Instead, the federal budget will be more than $7 trillion this fiscal year.
Government spending for foreign aid, welfare programs, the military-industrial complex, corporate welfare, and for scores of agencies and programs violates the conscience of millions, perhaps tens of millions Americans, and therefore should be abolished ASAP.
President Trump and the Elon Musk led Department of Government Efficiency need to articulate Peter Drucker’s vision—America should pivot to a new (actually old) social policy—nonprofitization. In an essay published by the Wall Street Journal (December 19, 1991) Drucker points out that the nonprofit sector should replace the welfare state.
Trump should abolish all federal government domestic social welfare— as well as foreign aid programs—and transform them into nonprofit organizations. These organizations would have to appeal to the American people for funding to obtain resources by voluntary contributions. This is the quintessential American way.
The nonprofitization of America would mean reductions in federal spending by trillions of dollars and the reestablishment of a constitutional federal budget.
Democrats and probably many Republicans would then take “ownership” of these agencies, organize boards of directors, articulate their mission statements, be completely transparent and establish GoFundMe appeals. This would be “pure” democracy. No taxpayers’ dollars would fund these nonprofits. The American people would thus “vote” with their dollars to support both domestic and foreign spending they deem worthy of their hard earned money.
Trump and Musk are taking steps to rein in government spending. They need to present Drucker’s ideas to the American people and make the case for nonprofitization. This would help usher in Trump’s “golden age.”
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Trump wants a US sovereign wealth fund.
The WSJ on “dumbest trade war.”
Tom DiLorenzo on Trump’s hero, President McKinley.
Rothbard’s monograph on the why the dollar should be as good as gold.
One of the best essays ever published in the WSJ by Greg Ip. Ip’s essay on risk and insurance explains why we have a huge welfare state. Risk has been socialized in America.
Tom Woods interview Tom DiLorenzo about the Axis of Evil.
Tom DiLorenzo’z pamphlet, Axis of Evil, is now available at the Mises Institute.
Order a free copy of Rothbard’s money and banking classic monograph. Or, you can read it online here.
My December 10 talk on medical care.
Bob Murphy interviews Dr. Keith Smith of the Surgery Center of OK.
Latest podcast on healthcare with host Johnathan Westover; Incentivizing wellness podcast with Bernadette Pajer; the Human Action podcast with Bob Murphy on my American journey; Joseph Cotto and I discuss Argentina and the US, and the Human podcast with Bob Murphy on healthcare; Robert Scott Bell and I discuss healthcare on the second hour of his podcast.
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Murray Sabrin, PhD, is emeritus professor of finance, Ramapo College of New Jersey. Dr. Sabrin is considered a “public intellectual” for writing about the economy in scholarly and popular publications. His book, The Finance of Health Care: Wellness and Innovative Approaches to Employee Medical Insurance (Business Expert Press, Oct. 24, 2022), and his other BEP publication, Navigating the Boom/Bust Cycle: An Entrepreneur’s Survival Guide (October 2021), provides decision makers with tools needed to help manage their businesses during the business cycle. Sabrin's autobiography, From Immigrant to Public Intellectual: An American Story, was published in November, 2022.
Let's break her down...$12 trillion actually went towards government expenditures, $12 trillion is actual accumulated interest on the debt and the last $12 trillion is made up of waste, fraud and abuse committed upon the taxpayer by the same government we know and love.