Cutting the Size of Government is Hard, People Like Their Free Stuff.

by Rod Williams, Dec 27, 2024- I wish I could be more hopeful that Trump's Department of Government Efficiency would actually accomplish something, but I have doubts it will accomplish much. 

In conversations with people who are concerned about the deficit, you will hear them call for cutting government spending. When pressed for specifics they will call for cutting fraud and waste and inefficiency. Sure, there is some of that, but it is hard to root out and even if you could, compared to the size of the budget it is insignificant. You can't balance the budget by cutting waste. 

Another favorite response to the question of what to cut is foreign aid. "Stop giving all this money to other countries," the memes scream. All foreign aid amounts to only 1% of the federal budget. Foreign aid is an essential foreign relations tool and most of it is not just mindlessly given away to foreign governments but serves America's interest.

Another call is to cut the Defense budget. Like any agencies one could find waste in the defense budget. However, if anything, we need more defense spending. Our Navy especially is inadequate to meet the challenges of a more powerful China. A weakened America is more likely to go to war than a strong America. We need peace through strength. You can't have it on the cheap.

I don't think Donald Trump has the desire or the instincts to cut the deficit. During the campaign he promised lots of giveaways, including no tax on Social Security and no tax on tips. Trump has also promised not to touch Social Security. If you recall, during Trump's first term, Congress passed a $600 per person Covid relief bill. It was President Trump who argued it should instead have been $2000.  I just don't think it is in Trump's nature to make serious cuts to federal spending. 

Also, many in Congress, in the abstract, are for cutting government spending, but when it comes to something like closing a military base in their district, or cutting farm subsidies, they vehemently oppose it. Also, people like free stuff. They like farm subsidies, student aid and Social Security. 

All of this is not to say we must not try to do something. Daily our financial situation gets worse. We are headed for a severe crisis with real consequences. The Social Security Trust Fund will be exhausted in 9 years, but in the last week, instead of addressing it, Congress, with Trump's blessing and the support of President Biden, passed legislation that moved up the date of insolvency by six months. If we are not talking about addressing mandatory spending, we ae not serious. 

We must address entitlements. I don't think Trump will do it, nor do the American people want to give up their free stuff. The below article from the Wallstreet Journal addresses the issue of cutting the budget. Below are some excerpts: 

Cutting the Deficit Is Easy—It’s Just Unpopular

by Greg Ip, Dec. 26, 2024 - ... The federal deficit reached $1.8 trillion, or 6.4% of GDP, last

fiscal year, a record outside of war, recession or emergency. Musk and Trump have promised to attack it by cutting federal spending. One simple step would be to stop adding to it. And yet last week neither stood in the way of Congress’s largess. Musk posted in favor of the money for disaster victims and farmers. The vice president-elect, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, co-sponsored the Social Security expansion.

The reason is obvious: Spending is popular with voters and both parties. This is why commissions, think tanks and earnest outsiders have been papering Washington for decades with ideas to cut spending and the deficit—and mostly gotten nowhere.

...  DOGE’s ideas mostly revolve around firing civil servants, closing or merging agencies, and cutting regulations. Whether this makes the government more efficient, it won’t save much money. Salaries for all civil servants cost around $200 billion to $250 billion a year—or roughly one-eighth of the deficit—and more than 60% of them work for military or security-related agencies, the functions Trump plans to beef up.

.... Moreover, some savings from shrinking the civil service could be illusory. Fewer Internal Revenue Service agents means less tax collected, for example.

The reality is that the big money isn’t tied up in the people who work for the government, but in the checks they send out. And the checks are much more popular than the people. 

For example, the Education Department, perennially marked for extinction by Republicans, spent more than half of last year’s $274 billion budget on loans and grants to students. The Transportation Department spent half its $117 billion budget on checks, mostly to state and local governments, for highways, bridges and other infrastructure. 

... At $4.1 trillion, mandatory is more than double discretionary spending and, because of population aging and health costs, growing much faster. ..  taming mandatory spending means reining in benefits. ... Trump, a populist, has built his economic platform around avoiding unpopular choices. If he’s going to make good on his promise of slashing the deficit while cutting taxes, he’ll have to do some unpopular things.

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Buses, football and food top 2024 Pork Report

by Kim Jarrett, The Center Square, Dec. 26, 2024 – A $60 million deficit facing the Memphis Area Transit Authority, a "friendly" restaurant deal in Lebanon and another fumble for Nashville's Nissan Stadium project topped the 2024 Pork Report by the Beacon Center.

The list of wasteful taxpayer spending is compiled each year by the Beacon Center, a nonprofit that provides free market solutions to public policy issues in the state.

In Memphis, a report by WREG showed the transit system was running at a $60 million deficit as ridership declined. That didn't stop the Memphis Area Transit Authority from building a new downtown office and purchasing a branded suite for Memphis Grizzlies' games at a price tag of not more than $510,898 for two years, according to the television station's investigation.

"After a transit consulting firm labeled these expenses a 'frivolous use of taxpayer funds,' which is the understatement of the century, Memphis Mayor Paul Young cleaned house and replaced the MATA board in October 2024," the Beacon Center said in its report. "However, the impact of this long-term financial mismanagement is already being felt – bus lines have been reduced, trolley lines closed completely, and layoffs announced."

The new $2.3 billion taxpayer-funded Nissan Stadium is expected to open in 2027, but the NFL is asking for $80,000 in upgrades for the current one, according to the report.

Other reimbursable expenses that took place at the current stadium include an ongoing $220,000 estimated east side perimeter sidewalk, along with power and lighting, more than $95,000 for escalator repairs and more than $8,000 to buy a used golf cart to transport fans at the stadium, according to a previous report from The Center Square.

"Even an extra dollar going to the project from taxpayers' pockets is egregious after the billions Tennesseans are on the hook for over the coming decades," the report said.

Lebanon officials gave $1.5 million in benefits to attract a new restaurant to the town about 40 miles east of Nashville.

"The city held the whole deal under secrecy, going so far as calling the new restaurant by a code name, the 'Central Perk'," the report said, saying it was stolen from the sitcom Friends. "With current local small business owners and restaurateurs questioning the decision to hand out tax dollars to their competitors, they said one of the most troubling issues was the lack of transparency around the whole deal."

Tennesseans will pick the "Pork of the Year" when the Beacon Center releases its annual poll on Jan. 6.

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Lawmakers Add $380 Billion to the Debt in the Final Hours of 2024

Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, Dec. 26, 2024- With the passage of the Social Security Fairness Act and the American Relief Act, Congress and the President approved $1 trillion in new ten-year debt in calendar year 2024 – a reversal from 2023’s $1.3 trillion in net ten-year debt reduction. CRFB’s Debt Thermometer for 2024 (below) has been updated to reflect these estimates.

The following is a statement from Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget:

Coming off of 2023, where we saw significant savings driven by the enactment of the bipartisan Fiscal Responsibility Act, we had high hopes that 2024 would be a continuation of that trend. With interest rates and costs surging, debt projected to hit its new record in just two years, and Social Security hitting insolvency within a decade, one would think policymakers would choose to continue to reduce projected borrowing. 

Yet they did just the opposite. In 2024, we saw a combined $1 trillion in new ten-year debt added – the result of about $600 billion of legislation and $400 billion of executive actions. More than half of the debt from legislation – a whopping $380 billion – happened in just the final day of the 118th Congress.

Heading into the new year, new Congress, and new presidential administration, it’s time for a new year’s resolution of no new borrowing – ensuring that all policy priorities are fully paid for – along with a commitment to enact significant deficit reduction.

There are many fiscal deadlines coming up in 2025, including the return of the debt ceiling, the end of discretionary spending caps, the expiration of many parts of the tax code, and – remarkably – the need to fund the government for the rest of the fiscal year and the next. It is a small ask for Congress and the President to do their jobs next year in a fiscally responsible way.

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How Many People did Andrew Jackson Enslave?

by Rod Williams, Dec. 24, 2024- Betsy Phillips writing in the current issue of the Nashville Scene in an article titled, Touring the Cemetery of those Andrew Jackson Enslaved reports on a slave cemetery discovered at the Hermitage.

In her piece, Phillips bends herself into a pretzel to avoid using the word "slave." She says things like, "The Hermitage knows of 26 enslaved people who died on the farm." And, "People who were enslaved by Jackson." And, "I couldn’t find the child mortality rate for enslaved people."

Let me say from the get-go that slavery was an abomination and that I am no admirer of Andrew Jackson. For many reasons he is one of my least favorite presidents, one main reason is his removal of the Cherokee. There are other reasons also. I don't much like that he let the rowdy frontiersmen stand on the Whitehouse's fine French furniture in muddy boots. In some ways he reminds me of Donald Trump. He was crude and ruthless. However, I don't think he "enslaved" anyone. He owned slaves. He did not go out and capture free people and make slaves of them. 

The murder of the language by self-righteous, hectoring progressives really galls me. One of the words that annoy me is "they/them" when referring to just one person. I think a "they/them" is someone who on some days identifies as male and other days identifies as female, which is different than sexual orientation. However, a single individual is not a "they," or a "them." Just weird!

More and more I am seeing people go out of their way to avoid the term "slave." This excerpt from an NPR piece explains it:

What is NPR's guidance on using the terms 'slave' and 'enslaved'?

Some journalists and historians prefer to use the term "enslaved" instead of the word "slave," to better describe those held in American slavery, and to acknowledge the horror and exploitation they were forced to face.

The language nuance was discussed by the leaders of The New York Times' 1619 Project, which was published in 2019 with an aim "to reframe the country's history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans at the very center of our national narrative."

During a Fresh Air interview in 2020, the project's creator, Nikole Hannah-Jones, said, "I think when we hear the word 'slave,' we think of slavery as being the essence of that person. But if you call someone an enslaved person, then it speaks to a condition. ... These people were not slaves. Someone chose to force them into the condition of slavery. And that language, to me, is very important, as is using the word 'enslaver' over 'slave owner' because these people didn't have a moral right to own another human being, even though the society allowed it."

Okay, I get it. I will still use the term "slave", but I get it. Using the term "enslaved" as explained above is using the term as an adjective or a noun. It would make sense. I won't get on board but the meaning is clear.  The way Phillips uses it in the article titles is a past participle of the verb to enslave, i.e. to make someone a slave.

Andrew Jackson owned people who were enslaved. Enslaved people were owned by Andrew Jackson. He did not enslave anyone.    

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A Book in Tennessee School Libraries Contains topics of Adultery, Homosexuality, Bestiality, Rape, Gang Rape, Incest, and More. Tell Moms!

by Rod Williams, Dec. 12, 2024- There have been over 1100 books removed from school libraries
across Tennessee since 2022 when the State passed a law to establish a local review process to make sure books and materials are “appropriate for the age and maturity levels” of the students who can access them. Since that time 1100 books have been removed. 

I recently shared my thoughts on two of the books. To see what I had to say about two of the books see, 'A Light in The Attic' by Shel Silverstein Removed from Knox County Public School Libraries. This is a Shame. and, Who's Afraid of 'Where the Crawdads Sing'.

I have not seen a complete list of the 1100 books and maybe there are some really inappropriate books that have been removed. I don't know. I assume the two titles I reported on are representative of what is being removed. If so, it needs to be harder to remove a book. It looks like the most vocal and most puritanical are deciding what other people's children can read. 

There is a book in school libraries across the state that deals with some very adult subject matter that has not been removed. I don't know that it has even been challenged. This book was banned from school libraries in the state of Utah due to vulgarity and violence but has not been banned in Tennessee.

Not only does this book contain vulgarity and violence, but stories of  adultery, seduction, lust, fornication, masturbation, prostitution, pedophilia, ritual genital mutilation, castration, abortion, homosexuality, bestiality, rape, gang rape, incest, teen pregnancy, cannibalism, murder, genocide, witchcraft, torture, suicide, human sacrifice, nudity,  drunkenness, voyeurism, blasphemy, bribery, corruption, eating excrement, drinking urine, and a bunch of other bad stuff.

Let me give you an example of what is in this book. In the below excerpt the book tells of women who lusted after men because the men were hung like a horse; well, actually, hung like a donkey.

She lusted after her lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose semen was like that of horses. 

This book was written in a foreign language and the above is the way one translator translated it, another translation says simply, "and lusted after their lovers, whose sexual members were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of stallions." 

Here is another excerpt from this book. This one deals with rape and incest.

When she brought them to him to eat, he took hold of her and said to her, “Come, sleep with me, my sister.” But she said to him, “No, my brother, do not violate me, for such a thing is not done in Israel; do not do this disgraceful sin! As for me, where could I get rid of my shame? And as for you, you will be like one of the fools in Israel. Now then, please speak to the king, for he will not withhold me from you.” However, he would not listen to her; since he was stronger than she, he violated her and slept with her.

Here is a long excerpt speaking approvingly of rape, murder, and pillage. This is pretty bad.

So they sent twelve thousand warriors to Jabesh-gilead with orders to kill everyone there, including women and children. "This is what you are to do," they said. "Completely destroy all the males and every woman who is not a virgin." Among the residents of Jabesh-gilead they found four hundred young virgins who had never slept with a man, and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh in the land of Canaan.

The Israelite assembly sent a peace delegation to the little remnant of Benjamin who were living at the rock of Rimmon. Then the men of Benjamin returned to their homes, and the four hundred women of Jabesh-gilead who were spared were given to them as wives. But there were not enough women for all of them. The people felt sorry for Benjamin because the LORD had left this gap in the tribes of Israel. So the Israelite leaders asked, "How can we find wives for the few who remain, since all the women of the tribe of Benjamin are dead? There must be heirs for the survivors so that an entire tribe of Israel will not be lost forever. But we cannot give them our own daughters in marriage because we have sworn with a solemn oath that anyone who does this will fall under God's curse."

Then they thought of the annual festival of the LORD held in Shiloh, between Lebonah and Bethel, along the east side of the road that goes from Bethel to Shechem. They told the men of Benjamin who still needed wives, "Go and hide in the vineyards. When the women of Shiloh come out for their dances, rush out from the vineyards, and each of you can take one of them home to be your wife! And when their fathers and brothers come to us in protest, we will tell them, 'Please be understanding. Let them have your daughters, for we didn't find enough wives for them when we destroyed Jabesh-gilead. And you are not guilty of breaking the vow since you did not give your daughters in marriage to them.'"

So the men of Benjamin did as they were told. They kidnapped the women who took part in the celebration and carried them off to the land of their own inheritance. Then they rebuilt their towns and lived in them. So the assembly of Israel departed by tribes and families, and they returned to their own homes.

Here is an except that advocates killing rebellious children.

If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father and mother and will not listen to them when they discipline him, his father and mother shall take hold of him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his town. They shall say to the elders, "This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us. He is a profligate and a drunkard." Then all the men of his town shall stone him to death."

This book advocates putting homosexuals to death.

If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them. 

I am sure you have figured out by now that the book I am referring to is the Holy Bible. If there was any objective standard as to which books are removed from school libraries, this book would be removed before Light in the Attic is removed. 

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The A-F Letter Score for each Nashville-Davidson County Public School.

by Rod Williams, Dec. 22, 2024- The State Department of Education has released its annual letter grade score of all eligible schools in Tennessee and I have snipped and pasted the scores for Nashville on this page. I have highlighted some scores that I found of interest. 

While some children can get a good education even in a bad school and while no doubt there are some good teachers in bad schools, if you want your child to have a good education in a Metro public school, by the time they reach high school, the chance of getting a good education are pretty slim. 

If you look at the high schools, most are scoring an "F."  The good high schools are Hume-Fogg and Metro School of the Arts and a couple charter schools.

Not a surprise really, but many of the suburban and rural schools outshine Metro schools. 

If you are moving to the Nashville area, and quality of schools are a factor, you may want to look at the Williamson County Schools. Housing may cost a little more, but you may save the cost of private school tuition. 

The difference between charter and district schools is pronounced in Nashville. 44% of charter schools earned an A or B rating compared to 29% of district schools.

There is a lot of data that goes into the letter score. To learn more about the State report card, follow this link. At this link, you can find district level performance data and demographic data, and much more.

To view the score for each school in the state, you can download the file with that information at this link. 

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How much are Metro Nashville workers paid? A look at the top salaries

From The Tennessean: How much are Metro Nashville workers paid? A look at the top salaries 

Here’s a list of the highest base salaries among all Metro employees in 2024, compiled from the city’s data set of general government employee titles and base annual salaries last updated in October:

1. $317,824 – Water Services Director Scott Potter
2. $295,825 – Chief Medical Director Gill Wright III
3. $287,260 – Police Chief John Drake
4. $272,909 – Transportation Director Diana Alarcon
5. $269,750 – Chief Development Officer Robert Mendes
6. $265,561 – Fire Chief William Swann
7. $265,494 – Director of Development/Special Projects Mark Sturtevant
8. $265,336 – Finance Director Kevin Crumbo
9. $264,020 – Metro Action Commission Executive Director Cynthia Croom
10. $260,228 – Planning Executive Director Lucy Kempf

Nashville mayor Freddie O'Connell lands at 63 on the list, earning a salary of $209,898.

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