Do We Really Need a Department of Transportation?

American Thinker ^ | 01/12/2023 | Mac Madden

[SeekAndFind]

Following yet another failure of government control of transportation -- the FAA system debacle --  Pete Buttigieg has been soundly thrashed again for his incompetence. The FAA failure is only one of many fiascos over the past year laid at the feet of the erstwhile secretary of Transportation. Recall when he and his “husband” were on paternity leave for nearly two months while the maritime shipping supply chain crisis was going on last fall. Next, he was AWOL during the railroad strike negotiations and really played no role in brokering a deal. As a matter of fact, he was on vacation in Portugal at the time. However, he did have time to point out that a railroad strike would force Americans to boil water. We could have hardly survived without him. Next up, the holiday air travel crisis, during which massive cancellations occurred under his watch. Further, Southwest Airlines basically shut down for a week. Buttigieg criticized the airline for the failure, but not much else. He did nothing to prevent the problem, even as he was aware of the possibility of a meltdown. Even prominent Democrats complained of his handling of the fiasco.

Should we call for the firing of Mayor Pete? On the contrary, the secretary of Transportation in reality has little sway over transportation system performance. Government regulators have no real track record at improving anything, let alone system performance. Regulators typically make things worse.

[SeekAndFind]

Let’s take a look at the Department of Transportation (DoT). It’s stated mission is ”To deliver the world’s leading transportation system, serving the American people and economy through the safe, efficient, sustainable, and equitable movement of people and goods.” The DoT was established in 1966 and combines thirteen agencies that cover all aspects of transportation from air, road, and rail travel to the administration of the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation. It’s FY23 budget is $105 Billion, up from the FY21 budget of $87.6 Billion and it employs over 58,000 personnel.

What has the DoT done for us?

[chopperk]

Do we need anything with buttboy Pete running it?

[cableguymn]

Butt plug and his incompetence has proven we do not

[struggle]

He’s trying to rename the Holland Tunnel the “Glory Hole”

[patriot torch]

We may need the DOT to oversee the exile of its dear leader back to the land of Sodom and Gomorrah and then decommision the department.

[PGR88]

LOL. The DOT was established, and long-distance passenger rail DIED almost immediately thereafter.

[econjack]

He couldn’t manage South Bend, let alone something as complex as the US transportation system. My thought: Biden promised him a cabinet position if he would drop out of the primaries and endorse him. There can’t be any other explanation why anyone would hire that idiot to run anything.

[BitWielder1]

No we don't need it.
And there are several other departments that serves mostly as very costly "progress prevention committees" that we should either get rid of or drastically cut down in size and scope.

[Bon of Babble]

We need Buttigieg to get rid of all those racist highways I keep hearing about - and he's vowed to do exactly that.

On September 15, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced it would spend $104.7 million not to build a road, but to tear down a “racist” road.

Also to make sure the military uses gender-neutral language...or else.

[Bon of Babble]

I am flying next week to visit family.

I hope Pete Buttigieg doesn’t cancel my flight - or Sam Brinton doesn’t steal my luggage.

[Fido969]

Some large interstate systems, air trafic, railroads interstate highways, etc, neet a federal co-ordinating organization.

They don’t need a clown running it.

[bk1000]

“There can’t be any other explanation why anyone would hire that idiot to run anything.”

To a democrat, he’s perfect for the job. He checks a diversity box and that is all that matters.

[Bon of Babble]

The DOT was established, and long-distance passenger rail DIED almost immediately thereafter. Well, out in California, Gov. Newsom is trying mightily to get a high-speed rail line built from nowhere to nowhere. So far, and after 15 years, it's cost billons and not one mile of track has been laid down. "California’s high-speed rail cost rises to $105B, more than double original price....The system was to be operational by 2020, for a cost of about $34 billion."

[PGR88]

That’s what you get when soviet-style progressive central planners take over control of an entire industry.

[Bob434]

Of course we do. Who else is going to whine about racist road names?

[Red6]

Almost all government is marginally effective at best.

Forget efficient.

That is not what you want running anything. All they do is redistribute and ration, but they themselves are not in the “production” side on anything.

When the government shut down during Covid and 75% of all federal employees stayed home for nearly 6 months, what happened? Did the earth fall out of orbit? Did it wobble off axis?

TSA (completely), 1/2 of the FBI, the Department of Education (completely), DEA (completely - redundant)... You can literally get rid of 1/2 of all federal government and still get the essential tasks done just as well. Our federal government is a bloated beast that is nothing more than “good ideas” which keep adding more and more to it with every administration that wants to seize the headlines and show action after some crisis or perceived crisis (EPA, DHS, DEA...). It's mostly junk which then gets a budget and sold to the audience (public) as some huge and necessary functions which needs ever more tax money and authority to regulate peoples lives once created, and before long you have the DEA telling pharmacies that every sale of nonprescription decongestants needs reported to them (as was the case).

Much which the federal government does is supposed to be a function of the state by the 10th Amendment. But who cares about the US Constitution anymore. Any mention of that today makes one a right wing radical.

Government: salary based jobs where people are not paid by a customer (disconnected). No liability. Political leadership that is appointed. No bottom line (i.e. not trying to maximize ROI nor viewing risk in a functional manner).

So you end up with a lot of government agencies reporting all their great accomplishments year after year, giving themselves a 90% (you always need to give yourself that 10% room for self improvement) but in reality they are failing. You have folks waiting in line 3 and 4 hours for a visa, in the weather, some older and it takes 3 months to get a passport which they still can't get right many times: US State Department. You have a VA that isn't too great. A US Postal Service that isn't to great (poor operating hours, bad customer service... but they have a great retirement plan and pay well - with the tax payer chipping in of course)...

A federal government is needed, but they need kept as small as possible while states and in particular the private sector fills these roles.

[Wuli]

Short anwser is no.

The federal government can allocate federal fuel taxes without a fed dep of transportation. The FAA can be made a federal agency, under the Department of Commerce. Likewise the Interstate Highway system can be managed by an independent Interstate Highway Commisssion, under the Department of the Interior, which is where the EPA should also be placed - under the Department of the Interior, with the Sec Department of the Interior having to approve all EPA policy and regulatory moves. The EPA should lose the role in determining anything related to “gas mileage” of vehicles, and to the extent that remains needed it an be housed within the Energy Department, which itself should be moved out of the cabinet and placed as an agency under the Department of Commerce. After eliminating the Dep of Ed and HEW we can further reduce the number of cabinet officers and vastly shrink tbe swamp in Washington D.C.

[grame]

Don’t send him back to Indiana. He might run for governor. 😖

[1Old Pro]

+1

[IYAS9YAS]

The DOT, along with most agencies, doesn’t have the authority to exist under the Constitution. All agencies have lost sight of any original mission they may have had. Even the Department of Energy, created to wean us off foreign oil so we didn’t suffer the whims of foreign despots for oil. We were headed for cheap nuclear (so cheap you wouldn’t need a meter) and now look where we are.