Outside it was beautiful. It was one of those clear sunny days in summer. Tourists were on every street corner. From my table I could see yachts slowly moving into the Washington Channel to go sailing out on to the Potomac River and maybe down to the Chesapeake Bay. Our Nation’s Capital never looked better.
Inside Washington the scene was a bit different. Nothing was moving except the waiters in the restaurants and bars where the money brokers gather at midday. Inside Washington it is still winter.
Sorry to report such grim news from up North. But if anyone out there sees a flicker of light at the end of the fiscal tunnel — besides Mark Warner’s Gang of Six grand play, please let me know.
Be that as it may, the talk in river city is always about reducing government spending. But, as usual, it is just talk. Nonetheless, what better place to eavesdrop than at the semiannual luncheon meeting of the Bureau of the Budget In Exile Unrequited Marching and Chowder Society (BOBIEUMACS). That’s the full name of our small and dwindling group that at one time served as the president’s fire wall against all the evil spending forces the federal agencies and their many friends could muster.
On this fine day our group was down to thirty. Still it represented over 700 years of inside Washington knowledge, which is a few years more of understanding than the typical television pundit. At one time we were inclined to put our know-how, i.e., which government programs work and which do not, to put out fiscal fires and chase after runaway spending. But no more. Now our main focus is on the Channel Inn’s scallops and sole when we are not thinking about the empty chairs at the empty tables.
Yet, around town, few are truly engaged with the growing national debt — a debt that now about equals our annual GDP. Please note that “truly engaged” does not mean playing to the partisan peanut galleries in order to raise more peanuts, or do a Congressman Goodlatte — endorse an ineffective and foolish Balanced Budget Amendment for political cover. (How many blankets does Bob need in this hot weather?)
In the fall of 1985 we invited a reporter from the New York Times to our luncheon. He wrote, in part, “Not a word of serious discussion was heard about today’s $200 billion budget deficit, widely regarded as the nation’s No. 1 problem.”
Twenty-six years later only more zeros have been added. There seems to be no cure for Potomac fever. Cultures do not change. They have no need to tell it to you straight. But I do. Before, during and after our luncheon there were three instances which show how difficult it is to change Washington’s ways.
Before lunch I was engaged in light conversation with two former colleagues. So, I safely said, “Isn’t it wonderful that someone has finally proposed a healthcare plan as good as to one we (active and retired federal government workers) have where insurance companies compete for our business.” Apparently not! I received a lecture on the evils of the private insurance industry and why we need the power of government to defend our personal health needs. (I made a mental note to cancel my home, auto and life insurance policies when I got home.)
During the luncheon, our speaker, Professor Gordon Adams of The George Washington University, was asked questions concerning the budgets for defense and international affairs. Every question was in relation to the rest of the federal budget — not in relation to the nation! That is how Washington thinks — in a closed loop. All solutions must come from within. Don’t question the role; just question the numbers.
After the luncheon I returned home via Amtrak. As usual, the train was late arriving in Staunton. Not because there is a lack of funding to modernize the equipment or improve the roadbed. No, it was because twice we had to go off on a siding in order for a freight train to pass! You see, government knows how to solve problems by throwing money at them — seldom by changing the rules of the game, such as telling the railroads that passengers are more important than freight.
And so it goes. What will happen next inside Washington? Stay tuned. That’s why we have a 24/7 news cycle.
Column by David Reynolds
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