The
political class breathed a sigh of relief Saturday when the US Senate averted
a government shutdown by passing the $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill.
This year's omnibus resembles omnibuses of Christmas past in that it was
drafted in secret, was full of special interest deals and disguised spending
increases, and was voted on before most members could read it.
The
debate over the omnibus may have made for entertaining political theater, but
the outcome was never in doubt. Most House and Senate members are so
terrified of another government shutdown that they would rather vote for a
1,774-page bill they have not read than risk even a one or two-day government
shutdown.
Those
who voted for the omnibus to avoid a shutdown fail to grasp that the
consequences of blindly expanding government are far worse than the
consequences of a temporary government shutdown. A short or even long-term
government shutdown is a small price to pay to avoid an economic calamity
caused by Congress' failure to reduce spending and debt.
The
political class' shutdown phobia is particularly puzzling because a shutdown
only closes 20 percent of the federal government. As the American people
learned during the government shutdown of 2013, the country can survive with
20 percent less government.
Instead
of panicking over a limited shutdown, a true pro-liberty Congress would be
eagerly drawing up plans to permanently close most of the federal government,
staring with the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve's inflationary policies
not only degrade the average American's standard of living, they also allow
Congress to run up huge deficits. Congress should take the first step toward
restoring a sound monetary policy by passing the Audit the Fed bill, so the
American people can finally learn the truth about the Fed's operations.
Second
on the chopping block should be the Internal Revenue Service. The federal
government is perfectly capable of performing its constitutional functions
without imposing a tyrannical income tax system on the American people.
America's
militaristic foreign policy should certainly be high on the shutdown list.
The troops should be brought home, all foreign aid should be ended, and
America should pursue a policy of peace and free trade with all nations.
Ending the foreign policy of hyper-interventionism that causes so many to
resent and even hate America will increase our national security.
All
programs that spy on or otherwise interfere with the private lives of
American citizens should be shutdown. This means no more TSA, NSA, or CIA, as
well as an end to all federal programs that promote police militarization.
The unconstitutional war on drugs should also end, along with the war on raw
milk.
All
forms of welfare should be shut down, starting with those welfare programs
that benefit the wealthy and the politically well connected. Corporate
welfare, including welfare for the military-industrial complex that masquerades
as "defense spending," should be first on the chopping block.
Welfare for those with lower incomes could be more slowly phased out to
protect those who have become dependent on those programs.
The
Department of Education should be permanently padlocked. This would free
American schoolchildren from the dumbed-down education imposed by Common Core
and No Child Left Behind. Of course, Obamacare, and similar programs, must be
shut down so we can finally have free-market health care.
Congress
could not have picked a worse Christmas gift for the American people than the
1,774-page omnibus spending bill. Unfortunately, we cannot return this gift.
But hopefully someday Congress will give us the gift of peace, prosperity,
and liberty by shutting down the welfare-warfare state.
