Let’s Budget Cut like Mexico!

Smaller government is the Republican mantra for political success.  Every Republican candidate for office stresses that restricting the size of government will save our society.

Today in the Financial Times, Ron Buchanan reports from Mexico City that President Felipe Calderon will be knocking out three large Government Ministries:  Tourism, Agrarian Reform and Public Function (Anti-Corruption) Agencies.  Hey, they are talking about “making a big difference in the size and scope of Government” alright…..!

So, let’s see what goes on here.  Calderon says…his administration will be saving 180 Billion Pesos…..around $13.4 Billion US Bailout bucks.  Calderon says the poor and the indigent will be receiving a boost of about $5.7 billion US Bailout bucks by doing away with these three Government Ministries.

OK….that leaves about $8 Billion bucks missing, the way we figure, where does that go?  Calderon says that the  Tourism Agency will be folded into the Economy Ministry.  Public Function – or the Anti-Corruption Agency  to be replaced by a Comptroller-General that will report directly to Calderon.  As you could imagine Agrarian Reform will be folded into the Agriculture Department and Social Development.  Anyone think that these measures are going to solve all the Corruption problems in Mexico?

Calderon said he is calling for even further cuts in senior official salaries and expenses and emphasized that those salaries had dropped almost 40% since he had taken office in 2006.  A new Calderon proposed social program is going to redistribute these saving to a program called “Opportunidades”, which is supposed to make payments directly to underpriveleged women with children, as long as they keep their kids in school and have frequent health check ups!  Calderon finally cautions that his program is not going to solve all of his nations problems….”We need futher measures and reforms that generate more jobs and make the economy grow faster!”

So, let’s get this right……So, if we could just get Governor Arnold to call for the demise of three big Government Agencies worth about $14 Billion Bucks, Make Pay Cuts of 40% across the board for all electeds and State Bureaucrats – how much closer might we be to balancing our budget?  Well, we would then be deficit only about $30 Billion Bucks down.  Which, if Supervisor John Moorlach had his way – would be taken away by simple retro legislation to do away with all 3% at 50 Pension Benefits for every Public Employee Group around the State.  Sounds good to us…..”If we could only be more like Mexico!”  That is:  Now, if Calderon could only figure out new ways to give out more free money to more people to make jobs that will make the economy grow faster!  And this is what they call – “The Mexican Hat Dance”!