> If the government were doing half as much stuff, each Senator would have twice as much time to allocate to each thing
I find the assumption that 'How much stuff the government is doing is proportionate to how much time each Senator has to act as a finder and remover of waste' as an assumption based on a normative view of what Senators should be doing in the Senate, rather than what their schedules would reveal.
This image of Senators is questionable, given what Senators actually do as part of their jobs (campaigning, meeting with lobbyists, reviewing poll data with advisors to refine their message and image). In terms of the priorities of politicians keeping their jobs and raising more money, I would estimate they probably have a much higher margin of return by campaigning, meeting with lobbyists, and reviewing poll data with their advisors than they do by going page by page through the federal register and legislation to find waste. Indeed, many if not most bills get passed without even a single Senator reading its contents in entirety.
Some Senators that claim fiscal responsibility as part of their Senatorial passions pay people to do this for them from time to time. But each little bit that has to change has to go through an enormously long process, so it's far easier to just focus on the hot button issue of the day that the party leadership can whip everyone (politicians and lobbyists included) into agreement on. Typically this never results in reduced government waste, but quite the opposite given the nature of the relationship between politicians and industry lobbies.
The problems with any given piece of legislation are clear as day, but given how much skin in the game the interest-groups and lobbyists each have in their own pet bills, there's little chance the current legislative modification apparatus could successfully change 50% of it within decades, even if the accumulation of waste stopped today.
I find the assumption that 'How much stuff the government is doing is proportionate to how much time each Senator has to act as a finder and remover of waste' as an assumption based on a normative view of what Senators should be doing in the Senate, rather than what their schedules would reveal.
This image of Senators is questionable, given what Senators actually do as part of their jobs (campaigning, meeting with lobbyists, reviewing poll data with advisors to refine their message and image). In terms of the priorities of politicians keeping their jobs and raising more money, I would estimate they probably have a much higher margin of return by campaigning, meeting with lobbyists, and reviewing poll data with their advisors than they do by going page by page through the federal register and legislation to find waste. Indeed, many if not most bills get passed without even a single Senator reading its contents in entirety.
Some Senators that claim fiscal responsibility as part of their Senatorial passions pay people to do this for them from time to time. But each little bit that has to change has to go through an enormously long process, so it's far easier to just focus on the hot button issue of the day that the party leadership can whip everyone (politicians and lobbyists included) into agreement on. Typically this never results in reduced government waste, but quite the opposite given the nature of the relationship between politicians and industry lobbies.
The problems with any given piece of legislation are clear as day, but given how much skin in the game the interest-groups and lobbyists each have in their own pet bills, there's little chance the current legislative modification apparatus could successfully change 50% of it within decades, even if the accumulation of waste stopped today.