Burgum aims to reduce administrative state.
Presidential hopeful Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND) advocates for a leaner federal bureaucracy
During an interview with the Washington Examiner, Gov. Doug Burgum expressed his support for pruning the federal bureaucracy, drawing on his experience as both a governor and a private sector leader to emphasize his ability to run things efficiently.
“You’ve got to have a higher revenue than you have expenses. You at least got to get them in line with each other,” Burgum said.
Burgum believes that the federal government should be treated like a business, and he is a strong proponent of significant spending cuts achieved through trimming the administrative state and finding efficiencies. He argues that the bloated bureaucracy has negatively impacted the government’s fiscal situation.
“We just have to get rid of all that,” Burgum said, “and believe me, the federal government, if you take 20% out of every job, that’s the equivalent of 400,000 of the 2 million jobs at the federal government level. It’s not like, oh we’re just going to just get rid of the Department of Education, which I would support, but that’s only 4,000 people out of 2 million, that’s one-fifth of 1% of the federal employees.”
Burgum estimates that a significant portion of federal jobs, around 10%-20%, involve “mind-numbing, soul-sucking work that adds no value to any citizen.” He believes that these unnecessary tasks can be eliminated through digitization and streamlining processes.
Experience in the private sector
Burgum’s plans to streamline the federal government and reduce spending are heavily influenced by his experience in the private sector. After obtaining an MBA from Stanford University, he invested in Great Plains Software, eventually acquiring the company and taking it public. Microsoft later acquired the company for over $1 billion.
“That’s what I’ve spent my life doing, is taking costs out of businesses … when you’re in the software business, everything you sell has got to be better, faster, and cheaper tomorrow than it was yesterday,” Burgum said. “Technology has changed and improved every job, every company, every industry in the country, except it hasn’t changed government.”
As governor of North Dakota, Burgum successfully reduced the state’s general fund by 27%, demonstrating his ability to cut costs and improve efficiency.
Burgum believes in ensuring that government employees have meaningful jobs that serve a purpose, and he aims to pare back the administrative state. This focus on reducing bureaucracy and cutting spending aligns with the growing sentiment among Republicans in Congress.
Reining in federal regulations
In addition to his plans for streamlining the government, Burgum also wants to rein in federal regulations. Drawing on his experience as governor, he highlights the passage of numerous “red-tape reduction bills” in North Dakota, contributing to the state’s strong economic performance.
“Innovation, not regulation, is what’s going to save the planet and what’s going to drive our economy. We’ve got to get our economy going because we’re in a cold war with China, and you don’t win a cold war unless you’ve got your economy sprinting instead of crawling,” Burgum said. “And it’s crawling right now under Biden.”
Burgum emphasizes the importance of a thriving economy in the face of global challenges, asserting that innovation and economic growth are key to success.
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