Broken Government

When the members of Congress, most often the Republican members, bitch about the government, referring to the vast array of departments and agency comprising the adminisrative branch of our government, they like you to forget one thing. They are responsible for the organization, missions, goals and more importantly the funding of the government. These aren't at the discretion of the President but only at the discretion of Congress.

When President Obama made the joke about salmon, one agency in charge of salmon in salt water (actually at sea since esturaries are the jurisdiction of another agency) and another in fresh water, meaning in rivers. And a third is responsible for the processing of salmon into fresh fish and prepared foods. To everyone this sounds a mess, but it's not and very logical and reasonable, which the President failed to explain.

To diverge a bit. All ocean fish are the responsibility of the Department of Commerce, specifically the Marine Fisheries Service, along with the Coast Guard and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adinistration. In short, everything ocean is commerce. All fresh water fish are the responbility of various bureaus in the Department of the Interior which is also responsible the lands, parks and wildlife refuges, historic monuments, and so on. The only exception is the US Forest Service in the Department of Agriculture because trees are a harvestable resource.

Now it sounds logical and reasonable. Nothing to make note about. It was to consolidate the various geographic entities of this country into respective departments. It still is effective and efficient, and not worth the joke. But that's not my point here, which is that Congress is responsible for this organization, and the whole organization of the government.

So, when they're lambasting the duplicity and redundancy of government, they created it and they can change it. They're only lambasting themselves. But that's not what they want you to know, only what they say for political points and your vote. It's simply political rhetoric and more so, bullshit.

It is the President who asks for and presents proposals for the organization of the federal government, as we saw when President Bush requested the now infamous Homeland Security Administration, consolidating various law enforcement departments, bureaus and agencies into one, and we all know how that's turned out (eg. TSA). But it was Congress who had to pass the bill for this new agency and consolidating the agencies into it, and then establish the annual appropriations.

So, that's my point, to Congress, if you don't like it, change it. You are the one in charge of it. Don't blame anyone else. Simply look in the mirror. You're your own enemy. How does that feel and look now?