The Left and the Right have the same saying. “America is not a two Party system, it is a One Party system—Republicrats:. In government agencies it does not matter who is President or Governor, the civil servants run the agency and enforce policy as they want, not as ordered. As an example, President Trump has revoked the top secret security clearance for the deranged John Brennan, former head of the CIA. Yet, as of Friday Tucker Carlson was reporting that after eight months of the order, Brennan still has his nose in America’s security and secrets—though he has called for a coup and overthrow of the President.
“ Currently, outside of U.S. military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, there is no great conflagration like World War II. Yet, despite relative peace, the federal government has plans to spend between $1 trillion and $2 trillion on infrastructure. In effect, any spending on infrastructure is a repeat of much of the President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal. The extra spending will increase the nation’s debt.
Neither major political party, meaning the Republicans and the Democrats, is likely to break the Iron Triangle.
But the Iron Triangle can be broken if the individuals, corporations, and foreign entities that lend money to the U.S. stop their lending. This lending is done through the purchase of U.S. Treasuries, which are bonds to be repaid, at a later time, with interest. A bond is a actually a form of a loan.
President Eisenhower in his Farewell address warned the nation about, “big government, big labor and the military industrial complex”. He was describing the Swamp.
By Richard Colman, Exclusive to the California Political News and Views, 6/11/19
“Drain the swamp.” That oft-repeated refrain from Donald Trump (and others who think like him) do not understand what is called the Iron Triangle.
Simply put, the Iron Triangle is made of the three components.
The three components are lobbyists, legislative committees (especially subcommittees), and government bureaucracy.
The Iron Triangle affects the operations of government at the federal, sate, regional, and local levels.
Anytime government creates a new program an Iron Triangle automatically
emerges.
Take a water project like a dam. The Iron Triangle comes into play when lobbyists (generally agricultural growers), the legislative committees that are supposed to oversee appropriations for the dam, and the bureaucracy (the people who build and maintain the dam) combine forces.
To drain the swamp related to a government project the Iron Triangle must be completely smashed.
In the case of a dam, the lobbyists must be controlled or destroyed. The legislative committees that oversee the dam must willing to give up any committee controls. How likely are elected officials — whose constituents benefit from the dam — to call for any actions that impair the dam’s operation? The bureaucracy supplies the dam’s workers (perhaps union workers) who are likely to scream about any plan to change the dam’s operation. The screaming will focus on job loss and other things that may be inconvenient.
Thus, the term “draining the swamp” is meaningless unless there is a serious plan to destroy the entire Iron Triangle.
Americans (and residents of other countries) always want things from government. Examples are retirement plans, health benefits, subsidies for special activities (like water projects), tax breaks, and government grants for such activities as hospitals, schools, and roads.
Every time the government proposes something like an infrastructure project, the result is a strengthening of the Iron Triangle.
The Iron Triangle is not new. The introduction of the federal income tax, which was adopted in 1913, gave government plenty of extra money to fund special projects.
During the Great Depression, which went from 1929 to 1940, there was an explosion of Iron Triangle projects. Examples are the Tennessee Valley Authority (a water project for the Tennessee area), the Works Progress Administration (a government plan to build roads and buildings), and the Civilian Conservation Corps (a plan to employ idle young men seeking work).
How can the Iron Triangle be broken? In 1941, the United States entered World War II. Money that went for infrastructure had to go instead for the manufacturing of warplanes, tanks, ammunition, and other things necessary to win the war.
Currently, outside of U.S. military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, there is no great conflagration like World War II. Yet, despite relative peace, the federal government has plans to spend between $1 trillion and $2 trillion on infrastructure. In effect, any spending on infrastructure is a repeat of much of the President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal. The extra spending will increase the nation’s debt.
Neither major political party, meaning the Republicans and the Democrats, is likely to break the Iron Triangle.
But the Iron Triangle can be broken if the individuals, corporations, and foreign entities that lend money to the U.S. stop their lending. This lending is done through the purchase of U.S. Treasuries, which are bonds to be repaid, at a later time, with interest. A bond is a actually a form of a loan.
Currently, the U.S. has a national debt of $22 trillion dollars. In 1981, the debt was $1 trillion. At some point, lenders may become concerned that the U.S. may default on its debt obligations. If the lenders refuse to buy U.S. Treasuries, there will not be money to fund infrastructure projects.
And when the lending stops, the Iron Triangle will be wrecked.
So when some politician says he will drain the swamp, don’t believe it unless that politician also promises to break the Iron Triangle completely.
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