[speaker001:] and they're talking about uh federal government aren't they
[speaker002:] I'm sure well actually probably any government but the federal one's the big one
[speaker001:] hm
[speaker002:] so uh so what do you what do you think in the short term we should be doing to to improve it
[speaker001:] well I saw a program on it recently and and it said everywhere time they cut you know like fifty five million dollars on a certain thing then they brag about how much money they cut and then they go and spend that money somewhere else and that's why the budget is never balanced
[speaker002:] right right
[speaker001:] The Gramm Rudman Act didn't solve the problem they just take all the money that they say they cut and they spend it somewhere else
[speaker002:] yeah
[speaker001:] or they you know they pad out their staff or you know spend it in bounced checks at the commissary or
[speaker002:] huh ah yeah I'm getting pretty kind of disgusted with the uh um the you know the fact that they're counting um a reduced deficit as being some big step right I mean first of all we're we're we were about ready to hit the largest deficit I mean this proposed budget has the largest deficit ever and two a deficit is I mean the deficit is only uh is as as far from a balanced budget you reduce the deficit you you're still not you're still not you're still overspending
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] right I mean it's it's just the amount that you're overspending and and this is you know and for some reason uh the way that the reporting is going on now it seems like like the uh the goal is to reduce the deficit to some you know still outrageous amount um yeah I I I think in the long term something is going to have to be done with uh sort of the the uh well I mean it's it seems to be kind of inherent in the political process right that you've got um people you know trying to trying to corner money for their state or for their constituents so that they can get reelected
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] and uh there isn't any sort of overall accountability and and uh I don't know I guess I suppose that that that the only kind of solution ultimately that we're gonna have is is is exposure and information and and I don't know that that in in general the American people are that interested you know to listen to to as much uh uh you know I mean you're gonna have to know what people are doing and uh you know and how and how how partisan and how and how self interested their their motives are and and take it to task for it
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] because uh it's not gonna get solved if you know if people are still trying to you know like besides like you were saying you said you know where you uh hey we just you know we just cut defense let me grab some of this money for my state now and then we can throw in some highway bill or we can throw in some you know some other kind of thing and uh it's a pretty vicious uh vicious cycle I don't know
[speaker001:] well I think they should they should limit the Senate to one term one six year term
[speaker002:] that yeah that's being batted around I uh my my dad was always a proponent a proponent of that he uh he felt that that would
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] get people involved who were who were interested in being public servants as opposed to personal servants yeah
[speaker001:] right and and don't let them come back and and uh keep Congress to um two terms and two years a piece and then it'll be overturning and they won't have the same people there all the time
[speaker002:] yeah right
[speaker001:] and then all the special interest groups will have to renegotiate all of their their payoffs and kickbacks and and that'll keep them busy enough so that they won't have as much influence
[speaker002:] right uh-huh
[speaker001:] and because that's one of the things one of the biggest things is that um the fact that they're always trying to lean somebody toward one way or another whether it's the oil companies or the automotive companies and like the air bag thing the air bag came out what twenty years ago
[speaker002:] right
[speaker001:] and only now they're getting it put in cars you know and the oil companies aren't really aren't responsible you know
[speaker002:] uh-huh yeah
[speaker001:] the Valdez proved that and then the government doesn't jump on them hard enough to make them do anything it should've been done immediately
[speaker002:] right yeah yeah I think I think that that's probably right because in terms of long term you you just got to get people um I mean at one point at least on a local level um going into politics is you know what you're doing is is really trying to serve the community right I mean you don't expect to make any money out of it you know maybe you gain a little bit of local fame but
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] but it's uh you put in a lot of work in exchange for that and and I don't have the feeling that national level politicians are are at all like that you know
[speaker001:] right no they listen to wherever the money is
[speaker002:] yeah and uh you know and I think that the the the problem with having you know junior people coming in all the time is that you end up kind of wasting a lot of time with uh you know with inept inept politicians or people who don't know how to deal with the public
[speaker001:] right yeah they're not as efficient that's for sure
[speaker002:] but on the other hand maybe that's in a lot of them