{"id":2373544,"date":"2024-11-26T08:40:59","date_gmt":"2024-11-26T13:40:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-wrecking-the-government-is-a-good-thing\/"},"modified":"2024-11-26T08:49:56","modified_gmt":"2024-11-26T13:49:56","slug":"trump-wrecking-the-government-is-a-good-thing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-wrecking-the-government-is-a-good-thing\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump &#8216;Wrecking&#8217; The Government Is A Good Thing"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftrump-wrecking-the-government-is-a-good-thing%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2373544&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>In a recent discussion on PBS NewsHour, Jonathan\u200d Capehart criticized President-elect \u2062Donald Trump&#8217;s selection\u200b of cabinet nominees, suggesting they are intended to &#8220;wreck\u200d Washington.&#8221; This criticism \u200dis based on\u200d Capehart&#8217;s\u2063 belief that Washington does not need to be fundamentally changed\u2014a view that diverges from the sentiments of the majority of Americans. According \u2063to exit polls, 73% \u200bfeel the country is headed in the wrong\u200d direction, with many expressing dissatisfaction and \u2062anger about the current state. Voter analyses \u200cindicate a significant desire for substantial \u200cchange or even total upheaval, suggesting that voters supported\u200b Trump\u2063 to disrupt the existing political structures.<\/p>\n<p>The article underscores a growing economic \u200ddisparity between Washington, D.C., and the rest of the country, with many of\u2064 the wealthiest counties being suburbs of the capital. This wealth has not \u2062translated into improvements for inner-city America or rural regions, leading to a sense of\u2063 disconnection between the bureaucratic elite and the \u200daverage\u2064 citizen. Federal salaries\u2062 significantly exceed average household incomes,\u2062 and federal job security is notably higher than in the private sector, fostering resentment from those outside the bureaucratic bubble.<\/p>\n<p>Moreover, the piece criticizes \u2064the treatment of regular\u200c Americans by federal institutions, citing the Department of Defense&#8217;s failure to pass multiple\u2064 audits \u200dand claiming such \u200bperformance would\u200c not be tolerated outside of the\u200b bureaucratic environment. It also\u2064 mentions the \u2064Department\u200d of Education,\u2064 which lacks constitutional support, implying that it disrespects the autonomy of \u200cAmerican citizens in managing their own children\u2019s education. The \u200boverarching theme \u2064of the article \u200dis that a disconnect exists between D.C. officials\u2062 and the realities faced by \u200dmany Americans, leading to a widespread call for change in the federal system.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>In a recent &ldquo;PBS NewsHour&rdquo; panel <a href=\"https:\/\/www.realclearpolitics.com\/video\/2024\/11\/16\/capehart_trump_choosing_a_cabinet_to_wreck_washington.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">discussion<\/a>, Washington Post Associate Editor Jonathan Capehart criticized President-elect Donald Trump for selecting cabinet nominees designed to &ldquo;wreck Washington.&rdquo; Underlying Capehart&rsquo;s critique is his assumption that Washington in its present form doesn&rsquo;t need &ldquo;wrecking.&rdquo; The majority of Americans disagree with that assumption.<\/p>\n<p>According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/election\/2024\/exit-polls\/national-results\/general\/president\/0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-centrists-warm-up-to-mayorkas-impeachment-but-a-few-holdouts-remain\/\" title=\"Some House centrists now support Mayorkas impeachment, with a few still undecided\">election exit polls<\/a><\/a> from CNN, 73 percent of Americans believe the country is headed in the wrong direction. Among this cohort were 43 percent of respondents who were &ldquo;dissatisfied&rdquo; with the state of the nation and a staggering 30 percent who were &ldquo;angry&rdquo; about the situation. A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/video\/6364257473112\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">voter analysis<\/a> conducted for Fox News showed that 82 percent of the electorate wanted at least &ldquo;substantial change,&rdquo; with a full one-quarter wanting &ldquo;total upheaval.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In retrospect, no polls were needed to see the landslide that was coming. It was evident as soon as the <em>incumbent<\/em> vice president attempted to portray herself as the <em>change<\/em> candidate. The incumbent is never a change candidate. So the voters sent Trump back to the White House to do exactly what Capehart is suggesting &mdash; to give Washington a good &ldquo;wrecking.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<h2>D.C. Does Not Reflect America<\/h2>\n<p>Americans have a great capacity to deal with adversity, so long as they believe we are all in this thing together. Americans no longer believe that. Rather, they sense that the American bureaucracy is in business for itself, and for good reason.<\/p>\n<p>The place to start is the economic divergence between D.C. and the rest of the United States. We have touched on this unhealthy relationship <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/04\/10\/biden-is-only-adding-jobs-because-americans-need-extra-side-hustles-to-make-ends-meet\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">previously<\/a>.&nbsp;There are more than 3,000 counties and county-equivalents in the United States. Yet, half of the top ten, and three of the top five, wealthiest U.S. counties in terms of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/poll-shows-growing-democratic-opposition-to-cheap-labor-migration\/\" title=\"Poll Shows Growing Democratic Opposition to Cheap Labor Migration\">median household income<\/a> are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usnews.com\/news\/healthiest-communities\/slideshows\/richest-counties-in-america?slide=16\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">suburban counties of Washington, D.C<\/a>.&nbsp;Fifty years ago, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1972\/09\/19\/archives\/50-richest-counties-are-in-suburbs.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">just five<\/a> of the fifty richest U.S. counties were suburbs or exurbs of Washington D.C.&nbsp; That number has more than tripled to 17.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Can anyone seriously claim that the economic conditions in inner-city America, or in the (former) industrial heartland counties, or in rural America, have improved during this same time period? Of course not.<\/p>\n<p>To be sure, the federal pay scale is not the sole source of this disparity. Washington draws money from throughout the United States (or just prints it) and distributes it locally through a complex network of government and government-adjacent entities, including bureaucracies, contractors, NGOs and other grantees. In Washington, the same people often bounce back and forth between these groups. The <em>business<\/em> of Washington is government. And business is good.<\/p>\n<p>Yet, the <em>bureaucracy itself<\/em> bears a share of blame for the divide. The estimated median income of a single federal civil servant is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.glassdoor.com\/Salaries\/federal-civil-servant-salary-SRCH_KO0,21.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$135,000<\/a> per year. By contrast, the median income of an entire U.S. household is just <a href=\"https:\/\/fred.stlouisfed.org\/series\/MEHOINUSA672N\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$80,610<\/a>. And this is not a fair comparison from the standpoint of the U.S. household.<\/p>\n<p>This is because median household income measures the total income from all members of the household who are employed, as well as from all of the jobs that those individuals work. Because approximately <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bls.gov\/opub\/mlr\/2020\/article\/comparing-characteristics-and-selected-expenditures-of-dual-and-single-income-households-with-children.htm%23:~:text=CE%2520data%2520show%2520that,%2520among,from%252052%2520to%252058%2520percent.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">half<\/a> of U.S. households have two earners, and because another <a href=\"https:\/\/fred.stlouisfed.org\/series\/LNS12026620\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">five percent<\/a> of workers hold multiple jobs, the worth of a <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">single federal civil service job<\/a> is substantially larger than appears on its face.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Not only do federal employees get paid more than the average American, they also have a much better chance of keeping their jobs and, thus, their paychecks, in perpetuity. Private sector employees are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bls.gov\/news.release\/pdf\/jolts.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">three times<\/a> more likely to be terminated than their federally-employed counterparts. Their employment is also more sensitive to economic conditions. Over the last year, the U.S. economy <em>lost<\/em> more than <a href=\"https:\/\/fred.stlouisfed.org\/series\/LNS12500000\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">1 million<\/a> full-time jobs while federal employment increased by <a href=\"https:\/\/fred.stlouisfed.org\/series\/CES9091000001\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">50,000<\/a> positions.<\/p>\n<p>It is no doubt nice to live in Capehart&rsquo;s Washington. But other Americans are no longer willing to pay a premium to bureaucrats who only make their lives worse.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>D.C. Treats Americans With Disdain<\/h2>\n<p>While wealth in and around Washington grows, those in Washington treat other Americans like fools.&nbsp;We see examples of this across the federal spectrum.<\/p>\n<p>One example is the Department of Defense, an agency quintessentially federal in character. The Constitution expressly provides Congress with the power to &ldquo;raise and support Armies&rdquo; and to &ldquo;provide and maintain a Navy.&rdquo;&nbsp;We have no problem with that. However, that the federal government is properly in the defense business does not mean that it carries out that business properly.<\/p>\n<p>The Pentagon recently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/pentagon-fails-7th-audit-row-unable-fully-account-824b-budget\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">announced <\/a>that DoD had <em>failed its seventh consecutive annual audit<\/em>. Of the 28 DoD activities audited, one received a qualified opinion and 15 others received audit &ldquo;Disclaimers,&rdquo; meaning that the reviewers could not form accurate opinions about the propriety of the DoD accounts. Only nine activities received clean audits, while three audits remain outstanding.<\/p>\n<p>Notwithstanding this abysmal performance, Michael McCord, the under-secretary of defense (comptroller) and chief financial officer, proclaimed that DoD had not &ldquo;failed&rdquo; the audit because it secured &ldquo;about half clean opinions.&rdquo;&nbsp;Yet there is no place outside of the Washington, D.C. bureaucracy where &ldquo;about half&rdquo; would be considered a &ldquo;passing&rdquo; grade. Don&rsquo;t believe me? Go to work and perform only &ldquo;about half&rdquo; of your job correctly. Then see how long you keep it.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, nine clean audits out of 25 (<em>i.e.<\/em>, excluding the three that are still pending) is not &ldquo;about half.&rdquo; It is little more than one-third. This man is the <em>comptroller and chief financial officer<\/em> of the largest bureaucracy in human history. Yet he cannot &mdash; more truthfully, <em>will not<\/em> &mdash; honestly divide the number &ldquo;9&rdquo; by &ldquo;25&rdquo; when addressing the people he claims to &ldquo;serve.&rdquo; That&rsquo;s disdain.<\/p>\n<p>On the other end of the spectrum lies the Department of Education, a federal agency that has no Constitutional foundation whatsoever. I urge you to go back and read that document.&nbsp;There&rsquo;s not so much as a hint of federal power over education. The Department of Education&rsquo;s very existence is an implicit <em>insult<\/em> to Americans. Its <em>raison d&rsquo;etre<\/em> is to take your money, tell you how to educate your children, all based on the theory that you &mdash; as ordinary Americans &mdash; cannot be trusted to figure out how to do that yourselves.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>What has the Department of Education given us for its trillions of dollars? Boys and men in girls&rsquo; and women&rsquo;s sports, and electricians and pipefitters paying off college loans for the children of the Washington elite.<\/p>\n<p>What has the Department of Education not given us? Better-educated children. In 2023, reading and math scores for U.S. children <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2023\/06\/21\/1183445544\/u-s-reading-and-math-scores-drop-to-lowest-level-in-decades\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">dropped<\/a> precipitously. Yes, <em>particularly bad<\/em> bureaucratic decisions during the Covid pandemic contributed to that failure. However, even prior to Covid, heavy federal involvement in education yielded little or no results. After decades of federal spending <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cato.org\/testimony\/impact-federal-involvement-americas-classrooms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">through 2011<\/a> (totaling $2 trillion adjusted for inflation), educational achievement among U.S. children showed essentially no improvement at all, albeit at three times the per-student cost. And student performance in core areas continued to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.educationnext.org\/make-2019-results-nations-report-card\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">stagnate or decrease slightly<\/a> right up until the Covid pandemic.<\/p>\n<p>There are scores of federal departments, agencies, and administrations falling (constitutionally) somewhere between the DoD and DoE that have gleefully taken from the pockets of Americans for generations without facing any accountability, or without fulfilling the promises of their service, or both.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>To most Americans, these institutions need a good &ldquo;wrecking.&rdquo; And those Americans sent Trump back to the White House to make sure that government of the bureaucrats, by the bureaucrats, for the bureaucrats shall perish from the earth.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Joseph LoBue is a retired Naval officer and attorney.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In a recent PBS discussion, Jonathan Capehart criticized Trump&#8217;s cabinet picks, assuming Washington doesn&#8217;t need change. Most Americans disagree; CNN exit polls show 73% believe the country is off track<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2785,"featured_media":2373545,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/pexels-pixabay-208686.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[5045,5894,4353,3634],"class_list":["post-2373544","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-government","tag-politics","tag-reform","tag-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/pexels-pixabay-208686.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2373544","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2785"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2373544"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2373544\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2373549,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2373544\/revisions\/2373549"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2373545"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2373544"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2373544"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2373544"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}