I have a modest proposal.  Just about every federal agency agency is infected with useless bureaucracy.  If Lean is good for business it's absolutely vital for government.

Why do we need an Interstate Commerce Commission that has no regulatory powers but they're still collecting data in case they can get their hands on the levers of power again. Has education been improved one iota by the Department of Education? Do we need to spend 10 billion annually on faulty & flawed background checks when the credit reporting agencies could handle this task for a very small percentage of the current budget and do a better job.  Don't get me started on the foibles at the FDA.  The biggest cause of corruption occurs as agencies become subject to Pournelle's Iron Law of Bureaucracy.

While this may seem odd I believe we actually need more government.  The U.S. government is experiencing a problem that has afflicted all governments in recorded history; i.e. the size of the bureaucracy increases until the society can no longer support it.  Past societies reached this point and collapsed.  Perhaps the United States can come up with a solution. What's missing is mechanism to clean out outdated legislation & regulations as well as agencies that have achieved their purpose but continue to grow the business.

Remember the success of Clinton's Assault Weapons Ban? The AWB was unique in that it included a sunset clause.  Congress passed the law with every expectation of reauthorizing the law.  We all know how it ended.  After 10 years FBI statistics showed the law had zero effect and it was allowed to lapse.  I propose that all government agencies not specifically required by the Constitution be subject to a sunset law.  Every 8 or 12 years Congress must review the accomplishments of the subject agency, verify that they're still pursuing stated goals then reformulate the agency as needed and reauthorize the agency. Even constitutionally required services could be reduced to a contracted services.

I propose a new Department of Lean Government which will seek out outdated regulations and  ineffective government agencies to defund the agency.  The Department of Lean would have no budget.  Their funding would only come from agencies they've defunded. It would grow in size until the source of funds starts drying up.

 

Perhaps we need a Lean Initiative law similar in nature to RICO statutes where private citizens could sue for a Lean defunding and receive a portion of the savings.

 

States that have initiative & referendum often vote themselves into trouble but recall has proven useful. I propose a federal recall amendment where a plurality of states can overturn any federal statute, fire any hired or appointed official including judges and overturn Supreme Court decisions with the approval of three quarters of the state legislatures. The bar is set purposefully high.