2024 has been the year of renewals for us. In late October we realized that when we travel abroad next, we will have less than six months left on our passports. I sat down to apply along with a large mug of coffee, fully confident this would take a while. Having read about the months-long renewal delays in the pandemic and well into this year, I was anxious about receiving the new passports in time. Twenty minutes in, I was done! Done for the both of us, done with the payment and printing what needed to be mailed. To my surprise, the new passports arrived in a week and a half.
While reviewing our other travel documents, we saw that our Global Entry cards are expiring soon. That application took 15 minutes and the approval came in 24 hours! My driver’s license is up for renewal too. So, I applied while on the treadmill at the gym and the new license arrived in three days. Next was Tarun’s application for social security because he’s finally arrived at the much-awaited and magical age. Surely, that could not be easy, right?! He had to answer more questions than expected but the entire process only took 25 minutes. In the middle of this, with Neil’s help I applied for Global Entry for Mina because that kid flies like nobody else I know! The app was submitted at 30k feet in the friendly skies. She had to appear for an interview and got her card in a a few months. I was afraid this was our “threeanger’s” chance to decline acknowledging her parents, but she complied!
I was pleasantly surprised at how easy the federal and state governments make it to complete these potentially onerous tasks. The systems are coded and maintained by contractors, disparagingly known as the Beltway Bandits. I was part of this public sector machinery for years, although not focused on these agencies. I was no bandit, that’s for sure!
Here are some mind-boggling statistics: there are over 200,000 companies that contract with the government. They generate in excess of 1 trillion in revenue and employ millions of people. The federal government spends more than 750B - i.e., almost 10% of its annual budget - on contracting work to these companies.
Government contractors range from the little companies to behemoths like Lockheed Martin with 400B+ in annual revenue. That is more than GDP of Denmark! It is natural to scoff at these contractors because they are making a living off of taxpayer money. When the systems and processes work, when satellites are launched into space, when highways are repaired, when criminals are apprehended and brought to justice, when healthcare is paid for and when Social Security payments come in like clockwork, that's worthy of supportive nods from us.
As DOGE cuts and slashes government spending, I pray that they will leave the systems that are working untouched and focus on the monstrosities like the IRS. In 2020, our tax return fell through the cracks and our refund got lost in the maze for three years. No kidding. Intervention by our local Congresswoman finally dislodged the errant return. Who doesn’t wish for a massively simplified tax code and a streamlined process that doesn’t rely on divine intervention to understand the rules and cosmic luck to file returns. If DOGE can streamline the parts that aren’t working well, it will be immensely beneficial.
Oh but wait, I forgot, the DOGE bros can’t actually do anything, they can only recommend.
Congress needs to legislate the recommendations and therein lies our challenge. Congress hasn't been this dysfunctional in decades. The members are ideologues and bicker like schoolyard bullies. They keep government open with continuing resolutions for a good part of the year as opposed to carefully considered annual budgets. This is one of the many sources of government bloat.
Hope springs eternal for a smaller government but this machinery is likely too entrenched for quick and impactful change. Still, I am for changes that reduce the national debt.
In the meantime, I am glad our season of renewals has ended well. If you have to do any of these renewals, get on the treadmill or grab a cuppa and then sit back and relax. It looks like the pandemic bottlenecks have ended. Hallelujah!
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