Jonas Parker
Hooligan
Dated, but informative...JP
From the Editor By: David Deschesne Editor/Publisher, Fort Fairfield Journal You know, I really don’t make a lot of money publishing this newspaper. I make enough to keep it going and have to supplement my income with sound system rentals (which is what I started out doing twenty-five years ago). I keep publishing not because I count my wealth in dollars, but because I count my wealth, in part, in your increased knowledge of the world around you. After all, if you’re not free, I’m not free. Since my wife and I don’t make a lot of money, we’ve had to learn how to scale back our lifestyle and live within our means. Balancing the needs of running our respective businesses and keeping the necessary equipment current and maintained with the limited income we have is no easy feat, but it is doable. Given our current United States government is nearing $16 trillion in debt, and is going into debt at an average of $2 million per minute(!) I think it would behoove us to look into their current expenses to see what they could try to do without. The following list is a partial compilation of various federal government agencies that have developed over the past 200 years and continue to stay with us. Since I’m not running for public office, I can advocate for the elimination of these offices and agencies. When reading down through the list, think of all the heads and sub-heads of each earning hundreds of thousands of dollars per year plus a lucrative benefits package, plus all the staff that has to be paid as well—all out of taxes that are collected at the barrel of a police officer’s gun. Then, think of all the people in the U.S. who have become accustomed to receiving some form of benefit or another from these agencies and you will soon see why it is political suicide for any politician to ever advocate for scaling down or cutting back any, or all, of these expenses. The only criteria I have used to compile this list (which is from the U.S. Government Manual) is if the agency, corporation or administration is not specifically authorized to exist by the U.S. Constitution—which is still the Supreme Law of the Land. Now, considering the debt load of the following agencies and administrations, is it any wonder we are $16 trillion in debt? Absent a U.S. Congress who is willing to eliminate these untenable costs, is there any hope of us reigning in uncontrollable spending? No. Unconstitutional Federal Government Agencies (partial listing) Advanced Research Projects AgencyAdvisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations Advisory Council on Historic Preservation African Development Foundation Agency for International Development Agricultural Marketing Service Agricultural Research Service Agriculture, Department of Economic Research Service Energy, Office of Environmental Quality, Office of Federal Acquisition Regulation Federal Crop Insurance Corp. Food and Nutrition Service Foreign Agricultural Service Forest Service Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration Information Resources Management Inspector General, Office of National Agricultural Library National Agricultural Statistics Service National Resources Conservation Service Operations, Office of Procurement and Property Management Rural Business - Cooperative Service Rural Development Administration Rural Housing Service Rural Telephone Bank Rural Utilities Service Secretary of Agriculture, Office of Transportation, Office of World Outlook Board AMTRAK American Battle Monuments Commission American Indians, Office of Trustee Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Appalachian Regional Commission Architectural/Transportation Barriers Compliance Board Arctic Research Commission Assassination Records Review Board Benefits Review Board Bilingual Education and Minority Languages Affairs, Office of Blind or Severely Disabled, Committee for Purchase from People who are Board for International Broadcasting Broadcasting Board of Governors Federal Acquisition Regulation Central Intelligence Agency Child Support Enforcement Children and Families Administration Civil Rights, Commission on Civil Rights, Office for Commerce Department Economic Analysis, Bureau of Economic Development Administrations Emergency Management Assistance Fishery Conservation and Management International Trade Administration National Marine Fisheries Service National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Telecommunications and Information Administration National Weather Service Productivity, Technology and Innovation, Assistant Secretary Technology, Undersecretary for Commercial Space Transportation Commodity Credit Corporation Commodity Futures Trading Commission Community Development Financial Institutions Fund Community Planning and Development Community Service, Office of Construction Industry Collective Bargaining Commission Consumer Product Safety Commission Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service Corporation for National and Community Service Cost Accounting Standards Board Council on Environmental Quality Delaware River Basin Commission Drug Enforcement Administration Economic Affairs, Undersecretary of Economic Analysis, Bureau of Economic Development Administration Economic Research Service Education, Department of Bilingual Education and Minority Languages Affairs, Office of Civil Rights, Office of Educational Research and Improvement Elementary and Secondary Education Federal Acquisition Regulation Postsecondary Education Secretary of Educations Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, Office of Vocational and Adult Education Emergency Oil and Gas Guaranteed Loan Board Emergency Steel Guarantee Loan Board Employees' Compensation Appeals Board Employees Loyalty Board Employment and Training Administration Employment Standards Administration Endangered Species Committee Energy, Department of Energy, Office of Engineers, Corps of Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Quality, Office of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Equal Opportunity, Office of Assistant Secretary Export Administration, Bureau of Export-Import Bank of the United States Family Assistance, Office of Farm Service Agency Farm Credit Administration Farm Credit System Insurance Corp. Federal Acquisition Regulation Federal Aviation Administration Federal Claims Collections Standards Federal Communications Commission Federal Contract Compliance Programs Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Federal Election Commission Federal Emergency Management Agency Federal Employees Life Insurance Federal Employees Health Benefits Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council Federal Financing Bank Federal Highway Administration Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight Office Federal Labor Relations Authority Federal Law Enforcement Training Center Federal Management Regulation Federal Maritime Administration Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Federal Prison Industries, Inc. Federal Procurement Policy, Office of Federal Property Management Regulations Federal Property Management Regulations System Federal Railroad Administration Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board Federal Service Impasse Panel Federal Trade Commission Federal Transit Administration Federal Travel Regulation System Financial Crimes Enforcement Network Fine Arts, Commission on Fiscal Service Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Fishery Conservation and Management Food and Drug Administration Food and Nutrition Service Foreign Agricultural Service Foreign Assets Control, Office of Foreign Claims Settlement Commission Foreign Service Grievance Board Foreign Service Impasse Disputes Board Foreign Service Labor Relations Board Foreign Trade Zones Board Forest Service Geological Survey Government Ethics, Office of Government National Mortgage Association Harry S. Truman Scholarship Program Health and Human Services, Dept. of Health Care Financing Administration Housing and Urban Development Federal Housing Commissioner Human Development Services Independent Counsel, Office of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Indian Arts and Crafts Board Indian Health Service Information Resources Management Information Security Oversight Office Inspector General Institute of Peace, U.S. Inter-American Foundation Intergovernmental Relations, Advisory Commission Interior Department Internal Revenue Service International Boundary and Water Commission International Development, U.S. Agency on International Development Cooperation Agency International Fishing and Related Activities International Investment International Joint Commission, U.S. and Canada International Organizations Employees Loyalty Board International Trade Administration International Trade Commission James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission Joint Board for the Enrollment of Actuaries Labor Department Labor-Management Standards, Office of Land Management, Bureau of Legal Services Corporation Management and Budget, Office of Marine Mammal Commission Maritime Administration Micronesian Status Negotiations Mine Safety and Health Administration Minerals Management Service Mines, Bureau of Minority Business Development Agency Monetary Offices Multifamily Housing Assistance Restructuring, Office of National Aeronautics and Space Administration National and Community Service Corp. National Capital Planning Commission National Commission for Employment Policy National Commission on Libraries and Information Science National Council on Disability National Counterintelligence Center National Credit Union Administration National Drug Control Policy, Office of National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration National Imagery and Mapping Agency National Indian Gaming Commission National Institute for Literacy National Institute for Standards and Technology National Labor Relations Board National Mediation Board National Park Service National Railroad Adjustment Board National Science Foundation National Telecommunications and Information Administration Natural Resources Conservation Service Neighborhood Reinvestment Corp. Northeast Dairy Compact Commission Occupational Safety and Health Administration Occupational Safety and Health Review Board Oklahoma City National Memorial Trust Operations Office Overseas Private Investment Corp. Payment from a non-Federal Source for Travel Expenses Payment of Expenses Connected With the Death of Certain Employees Peace Corps Pennsylvania Avenue Development Commission Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation Presidential Commission on the Assignment of Women in Armed Forces Presidential Documents Presidio Trust Prisons, Bureau of Procurement and Property Management Productivity, Technology and Innovation, Assistant Secretary Public Contracts, Dept. of Labor Public and Indian Housing Public Health Service Railroad Retirement Board Reclamation, Bureau of Refugee Resettlement, Office of Regional Action Planning Commissions Relocation Allowances Research and Special Programs Administration Rural Business-Cooperative Service Rural Development Administration Rural Housing Service Rural Telephone Bank Rural Utilities Service Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation Science and Technology Policy, Office of Secret Service Securities and Exchange Commission Selective Service System Small Business Administration Smithsonian Institution Social Security Administration Soldiers' and Airmens' Home Special Counsel, Office of Surface Mining and Reclamation Appeals, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Office of Surface Transportation Board Susquehanna River Basin Commission Technology Administration Technology Policy, Assistant Secretary of Technology, Undersecretary for Tennessee Valley Authority Thrift Supervision Office Trade Representative, U.S. Transportation Dept. Transportation, Office of Transportation Safety Administration Transportation Statistics Bureau Utah Reclamation Mitigation and Conservation Commission Veterans Affairs Dept. Veterans Employment and Training Wage and Hour Division Worker's Compensation Programs |
