Age of CZARs

The concept of representative democracy is that the people, in the form of qualified voters, pick representatives and senators to stand in their place in running the government. This concept is simple. The representatives and senators can be removed per the terms of the USConstitution and, of course, the people can elect a different person at the time of the next election. How do the people remove the bureaucrats that the senators and representatives hire to carry out their legislation? How do the people get the kind of working government that is accountable to them in this process? How do the people control the activities of the newly appointed CZARs? They need to depend on their elected representatives and senators. Are the CZARs accountable to anyone? Are the senators and representatives in charge of the CZARs and the bureaucrats or is it the other way around?

Mr. Obama has initiated and implemented a profoundly significant new level of bureaucracy. Here is a list of some of his CZARS and their titles:

WAR CZAR: Lt. Gen Douglas Lute (Has Obama heard of the Department of Defense?)

TARP CZAR: Herb Allison (or the Department of the Treasury?)

STIMULUS ACCOUNTABILITY CZAR: Earl Devaney (Ditto: Treasury?)

PAY CZAR: Kenneth Feinberg (Ditto: Treasury?)

HEALTH REFORM CZAR: Nancy-Ann DeParle (or the Department of Health and Human Services?)

INTELLIGENCE CZAR: Dennis Blair (What? NSA? DOD? CIA? And Hundreds more??)

CAR CZAR: Steve Rattner (Any fool who wants this job should be rejected based on the Groucho Marx test – "I won’t join a club that would have me as a member.")

U. S. BORDER CZAR: Alan Bersen (Anyone heard of the Border Patrol? ICE? The hundreds of thousands already working in the ridiculous Department of Homeland Security?)

This list could go on and on. There are CZARs for the Middle East, Pakistan and Afghanistan, AIDS, Climate, Green Jobs (no, we are not making this up) and even a CZAR for Science and Weather. No CZARs have been appointed to reduce government bureaucracy or improve the respect and diligence of government employees when dealing with taxpayers. No CZAR to oversee the repayment of the US Debt. Why the new CZARs? This is not representative government with transparency and accountability. You can readily see that these CZARs are substitutes for various cabinet departments and other existing government bureaucracy. What on earth is the government doing creating new bureaucracies when existing bureaucracies already have the same stated responsibilities and job descriptions? The answer is transparent. Obama has concluded that the existing bureaucracies don’t work and he wants new people he can direct who are not part of existing, non working bureaucracies to get things done his way. One might even find some support for this position if he would take the obviously needed step and that is to close down the non working bureaucracies and fire all their non productive employees. Business, to remain competitive, does exactly this all the time. Nature in its very cycle of life does the same thing. It gets rid of the old and replaces it with the new (see Retirement - July 21, 2009.)

The old Soviet Union had czars and bureaucracies and state owned businesses and it all came crashing down for exactly the reasons outline above. It was inbred and did not permit a rejuvenation process. It failed because it was not responsive to change and the marketplace. Who wanted to shop in a Soviet department store or drive a Soviet car or fly in a Soviet manufactured airplane?

Government accountability must be the primary responsibility of the elected senators and representatives and the president. Accountability and transparency are simple concepts. Transparency means you can see what it going on – readily, easily, conveniently. Does anyone know what is going on in any of these CZAR FIEFDOMS? Accountability is getting the job done, on time, on budget and per specification. Does anyone know what is supposed to be accomplished and by what schedule or completion date and at what cost and what level of progress has been attained to date in any of these CZAR FIEFDOMS? The USConstitution does not empower the creation of CZAR FIEFDOMS. If Obama’s sycophants in congress and the senate will not stand up to this violation of the USConstitution, who will?

CZAR FIEFDOMS are de facto acknowledgment of existing government’s failure to do a job; on time; on budget and to an acceptable performance standard. Let’s leave the CZARS for Putin and his buddies. Obama has established his CZAR FIEFDOMS to get his program implemented. This approach will have the same outcome as occurred in the home of the original CZARS – the Soviet Union. Failure and collapse. There is no place for CZAR FIEFDOMS in America! There is NOTHING in the USConstitution that enables CZARs. Please remember this simple fact on November 2, 2010.