How business, doctors and journalists prey on your food anxieties I
How business, doctors and journalists prey on your food anxieties I
How business, doctors and journalists prey on your food anxieties I
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
' jI L11J AJt1~<br />
Cutting the budget<br />
with a wet noodle<br />
P<br />
Ro^ert ~i . Nels2n is a<br />
professor in the SchWi<br />
of Public Affairs at the<br />
Universityof Maryl<str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> sen ior feJow of<br />
the Cainpethive Enierorise<br />
Instltute . His<br />
latest book is Public<br />
L<str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g>s <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> prNate<br />
Rignts .<br />
As aAR- of t.heir plans to eliminate the budget<br />
deficit bv 2002, House Republicans ha%e proposed<br />
to eliminate the Commerce, Educati<strong>on</strong><br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> Energy departments . But that «as too<br />
much for Senate Republicans . The\rould<br />
eliminate <strong>on</strong>lv Commerce .<br />
Even at that modest proposaL, the Clint<strong>on</strong><br />
Uministrati<strong>on</strong> complained nboutestremism .<br />
Jud_w-nq fi-om my experience as a policy analast<br />
in the office of the Secreranof the Intetior from<br />
1975 to 1993, n<strong>on</strong>e of these measures is e treme<br />
enough . To the House Republicans' lut 6st I<br />
would add the Department of the Interior .<br />
Formed in 1849, Intenor is today a collecti<strong>on</strong><br />
of ten di%erse agencies, induding the Nati<strong>on</strong>al<br />
Park Senice, Bureau of I<str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> il4anagement,<br />
Bureau of Mines, Bureau of Reclanrati<strong>on</strong>,<br />
Bureau of Indian Affairs <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> the Geological<br />
Surrvey . We're talking ancient history here . The<br />
current Bureau of L<str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> .Ltunagement goes<br />
back to the General L<str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> Office, established in<br />
1812 to oversee disposal of pubiic l<str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g>s . Interior's<br />
Bureau of Reclamati<strong>on</strong> ras created in<br />
1902 to promote farming in the West, but<br />
todav western water is much more valuable for<br />
rapidly increasing urban populati<strong>on</strong>s . Recla-<br />
When it comes to eliminating<br />
western pork, the Republican<br />
zeal for budget-cutting<br />
seems to wane .<br />
mari<strong>on</strong> projects received large c<strong>on</strong>structi<strong>on</strong> subsidies<br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> then the Department of Agriculture<br />
had to turn around <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> subsidize crop producti<strong>on</strong><br />
<strong>on</strong> s<strong>on</strong>ie of rhe % ety same l<str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g>s .<br />
The Bureau of'vlines was created in 1910 to<br />
oversee the safetv of miners follo%~ ing a series of<br />
disastrous mining accidents, In the I 970s,<br />
hou•ever, safery resp<strong>on</strong>sibiliries were transferred<br />
to the Department of Labor, <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> mining todav plays a small part in the II<br />
.S, ec<strong>on</strong>omy .<br />
The Bureau of Indian tltiairs has been steadile<br />
transferring resp<strong>on</strong>sibilities to tribal governments<br />
under its "self-determinari<strong>on</strong>" philosophv . But<br />
the size of the nc~L bureaucracy has yet to decline .<br />
C<strong>on</strong>gress should recognize diat this is the<br />
end of the 20th cemmn , not the middle of the<br />
19th . These agencies ha% e l<strong>on</strong>g since outlived<br />
their purposes . Thev survive chiefly because<br />
dte}' Irare mastered the infamous °ir<strong>on</strong> trianele<br />
." That's a political science term to describe<br />
the I<strong>on</strong>g-st<str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g>ing interacti<strong>on</strong> of federal bureaucaacies<br />
. C<strong>on</strong>gress <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> interest groups .<br />
In the 1970s C<strong>on</strong>gress approved so many<br />
nevtdoubtful park units f7ar the process became<br />
known as the "park barrel ." Like the Bureau<br />
of Reclamati<strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> other water agencies, the<br />
purpose was to subsidize local ec<strong>on</strong>omies as<br />
part of the political pavoff svstem in C<strong>on</strong>gress .<br />
Interior owr.s 26% of the l<str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> in the 11<br />
westernmost':ower 48 states . The U .S . Forest<br />
Senice in the Department of 2.griculture<br />
o vns an additi<strong>on</strong>al 19% . C<strong>on</strong>gress seems to like<br />
it this «a, v . If a rancher is unhappy about<br />
having to reduce the size of his cattle herd grazing<br />
<strong>on</strong> public l<str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g>s ., he goes to his c<strong>on</strong>gressman<br />
for help . Helping c<strong>on</strong>stituents is what getting<br />
reelected is all about . Nice svstem : First<br />
vou create obstacles, then vou do people a favor<br />
bv helping them through the obstacles .<br />
Members of C<strong>on</strong>gress are today more important<br />
than state gocernors <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> legislators for<br />
mam, critical l<str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> infrastructure decisi<strong>on</strong>s<br />
in the rural West . The Interior Department<br />
functi<strong>on</strong>s ehere as a local planning <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> z<strong>on</strong>ing<br />
board . Because the federal government picks up<br />
the tab, the home folks are even more grateful<br />
to their representatives .<br />
Nocr you know svhv the House <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> Senate<br />
budget plans for 2002 would eliminate <strong>on</strong>ly<strong>on</strong>e<br />
Interior agency, the Nati<strong>on</strong>al Biological Service<br />
. You also know whp Senate Republicans<br />
d<strong>on</strong>'t want to kill Energy or Educati<strong>on</strong> . Republicans<br />
ma• be the majority party now, but<br />
thehae to get reelected, too .<br />
The writer Wallace Stegner <strong>on</strong>ce aptly described<br />
the tppical western attitude to~rard the<br />
federal government as "go away <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> send<br />
more m<strong>on</strong>ey .° The West exalts the indn-idualism<br />
of the c<strong>on</strong>•bov <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> miner, <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> then proceeds<br />
to li e off the federal government . The<br />
West can be counted up<strong>on</strong> to deplore government<br />
interference while insisting that its representatives<br />
lcecp the largesse flov~ing .<br />
Washingt<strong>on</strong> cynics argue that Democrats<br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> Republicans differ less <strong>on</strong> ideology than <strong>on</strong><br />
c<strong>on</strong>stituencv . The politics in this 104th C<strong>on</strong>gress<br />
strengthens the cy'nics' case . Republicans<br />
tend to be gung ho fbr cutting urban programs<br />
but lukewarm about cutting rural programs<br />
that serve mosdy Republicans : the Interior<br />
Department, crop subsidies, the Rural Elecrr.ficari<strong>on</strong><br />
Administrati<strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> manp more .<br />
The Republicans are going to look awfully<br />
hypocritical if they cut urban programs for the<br />
poor <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> leace their own pet giveaways intact .<br />
To prove their sincerin theg ought to go back to<br />
the House plan for eliminating agencies <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
then add Interior to their list. ~<br />
146<br />
204CC73403<br />
Forbes . August 14, 1995<br />
http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/agf97d00/pdf