Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Seven, twenty three is our time here on Houston's Morning News.
All right, will they come in like a wrecking ball?
Hopefully so. John Hart joins us, the CEO of openthebooks
dot Com of a Vank and Elon seem to think
they can come up with about two trillion dollars worth
of cuts. Do you think they can do that?
Speaker 2 (00:17):
I think they can. It's great to be on again.
Speaker 3 (00:19):
Look back in the nineteen eighties, President Reagan put together
a commission called the Grace Commission, and their key finding
is that one out of every three tax dollars was wasted.
So if you extrapolate that percentage to today's numbers, where
we've got a six point five trillion dollar budget, you
get to two trillion. And the way they do it
is they start with the low hanging fruit, or the
(00:41):
rotten fruit, if you will, things like duplication Medicare and
Medicaid fraud.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Then you can move on to the Pentagon.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
And there's an incredible amount of waste in the Pentagon
where we're not spending money on fighting or preventing wars.
We're just wasting it on all kinds of things.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
From everything they can't even an account for the money
they failed that seventh straight on it.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
Yeah, that's exactly right.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
So so look, and some of that money is going
to be in sort of black ops, black budget programs,
but a lot of it is just pure waste because
there's a culture of there's a culture of entitlement, sadly
within the Pentagon where they just because they're the Pentagon,
they assume they can they can live under a different
set of accounting rules than the rest of us. And
that's not that and we can't afford that in today's
(01:26):
you know, global environment where we've got China threatening to
do ay Taiwan, We've got wars all over the world,
so we need to really step up that game. And
accountability and physical responsibility is a big part of that.
So so you move beyond the Pentagon. Uh, And there's
all kinds of just there's a lot of silly waste
that we talk about all the time. You know. For example,
the VA spent seven hundred thousand dollars on sculptures at
(01:50):
a facility for blind veterans. Now, now I'm all for
helping blind others, but how are the sculptures going to
help a blind veterans?
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (01:58):
That and then there's then there's drag shows in Ecuador.
You know, but regardless of what someone's opinion is on
drag shows, I don't I don't know that funding drag
shows and Ecuador restores America's deterrence.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
Right, John, Would you eliminate the Department of Education? What
do you think?
Speaker 2 (02:14):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (02:15):
I think here's here's how I here's how I would
answer that. When you think about the Department of Education.
When when a lot of just rational taxpayers they hear
these agencies, they think, well, that's just part of our government,
that's always been that way, and that's just that's not reality.
So the Department of Education didn't exist until nineteen eighty
(02:35):
and before that it was a part of a department
called the Department of Health, Welfare and Education. So and
that that department itself didn't exist before nineteen thirty nine.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
It was created in nineteen thirty nine.
Speaker 3 (02:47):
So, so our history is full of these departments kind
of merging together and splitting, or.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Rather it's it's it's.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
More the other direction of them getting getting bigger and proliferating.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
Yeah, let me let me ask you this.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
Actually, I think, yeah, yeah, we can get rid of
Department Education.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Okay, let me let me ask you this before we
run out of time, and you mentioned up the Trump administration.
This has been done in the past where we've had
commissions that have gone through and identified waste and waste
that we can cut the budget. But for some reason,
Congress never acts. We never get these things eliminated. What
will make this time hopefully different?
Speaker 2 (03:21):
Yeah, I think what's going to make it different really
is is Elon Musk's involvement.
Speaker 3 (03:24):
I think, you know, VI Bank is going to add
a lot, you know, with his with his you know,
intellect and just ability to kind of frame the problem broadly,
and his business experience as well. But I think you
when you have one of the most successful business people
in American history working directly with the president, that is
a very very powerful combination. So you know, back fifteen
(03:47):
years ago, I worked for Senator Coburn. You know, he
successfully got rid of your marks for a decade, and
we actually did we actually reduced spending year to year
for the first time since the end of the Korean War.
And that was one senator who really drove that with
few of his ally's allies in the in the Senate,
and if Coburn can do that. Imagine what someone can
do with Elon Musk's backing.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
So I'm I'm very up.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
That's what's really different is is well and this is
a movement. This isn't just a commission. This is a
movement of people. It goes way beyond the traditional MAGA
Republican based sure taxpayers demanding this change.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
And Elon Musk has a platform in which he can
shame politicians that nobody's had in the past, and that's
called X got it, John, Thank you John Hart, CEO
of Openedthebooks dot com at seven twenty seven
Seven, twenty three is our time here on Houston's Morning News.
All right, will they come in like a wrecking ball?
Hopefully so. John Hart joins us, the CEO of openthebooks
dot Com of a Vank and Elon seem to think
they can come up with about two trillion dollars worth
of cuts. Do you think they can do that?
Speaker 2 (00:17):
I think they can. It's great to be on again.
Speaker 3 (00:19):
Look back in the nineteen eighties, President Reagan put together
a commission called the Grace Commission, and their key finding
is that one out of every three tax dollars was wasted.
So if you extrapolate that percentage to today's numbers, where
we've got a six point five trillion dollar budget, you
get to two trillion. And the way they do it
is they start with the low hanging fruit, or the
(00:41):
rotten fruit, if you will, things like duplication Medicare and
Medicaid fraud.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Then you can move on to the Pentagon.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
And there's an incredible amount of waste in the Pentagon
where we're not spending money on fighting or preventing wars.
We're just wasting it on all kinds of things.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
From everything they can't even an account for the money
they failed that seventh straight on it.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
Yeah, that's exactly right.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
So so look, and some of that money is going
to be in sort of black ops, black budget programs,
but a lot of it is just pure waste because
there's a culture of there's a culture of entitlement, sadly
within the Pentagon where they just because they're the Pentagon,
they assume they can they can live under a different
set of accounting rules than the rest of us. And
that's not that and we can't afford that in today's
(01:26):
you know, global environment where we've got China threatening to
do ay Taiwan, We've got wars all over the world,
so we need to really step up that game. And
accountability and physical responsibility is a big part of that.
So so you move beyond the Pentagon. Uh, And there's
all kinds of just there's a lot of silly waste
that we talk about all the time. You know. For example,
the VA spent seven hundred thousand dollars on sculptures at
(01:50):
a facility for blind veterans. Now, now I'm all for
helping blind others, but how are the sculptures going to
help a blind veterans?
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (01:58):
That and then there's then there's drag shows in Ecuador.
You know, but regardless of what someone's opinion is on
drag shows, I don't I don't know that funding drag
shows and Ecuador restores America's deterrence.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
Right, John, Would you eliminate the Department of Education? What
do you think?
Speaker 2 (02:14):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (02:15):
I think here's here's how I here's how I would
answer that. When you think about the Department of Education.
When when a lot of just rational taxpayers they hear
these agencies, they think, well, that's just part of our government,
that's always been that way, and that's just that's not reality.
So the Department of Education didn't exist until nineteen eighty
(02:35):
and before that it was a part of a department
called the Department of Health, Welfare and Education. So and
that that department itself didn't exist before nineteen thirty nine.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
It was created in nineteen thirty nine.
Speaker 3 (02:47):
So, so our history is full of these departments kind
of merging together and splitting, or.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Rather it's it's it's.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
More the other direction of them getting getting bigger and proliferating.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
Yeah, let me let me ask you this.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
Actually, I think, yeah, yeah, we can get rid of
Department Education.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Okay, let me let me ask you this before we
run out of time, and you mentioned up the Trump administration.
This has been done in the past where we've had
commissions that have gone through and identified waste and waste
that we can cut the budget. But for some reason,
Congress never acts. We never get these things eliminated. What
will make this time hopefully different?
Speaker 2 (03:21):
Yeah, I think what's going to make it different really
is is Elon Musk's involvement.
Speaker 3 (03:24):
I think, you know, VI Bank is going to add
a lot, you know, with his with his you know,
intellect and just ability to kind of frame the problem broadly,
and his business experience as well. But I think you
when you have one of the most successful business people
in American history working directly with the president, that is
a very very powerful combination. So you know, back fifteen
(03:47):
years ago, I worked for Senator Coburn. You know, he
successfully got rid of your marks for a decade, and
we actually did we actually reduced spending year to year
for the first time since the end of the Korean War.
And that was one senator who really drove that with
few of his ally's allies in the in the Senate,
and if Coburn can do that. Imagine what someone can
do with Elon Musk's backing.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
So I'm I'm very up.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
That's what's really different is is well and this is
a movement. This isn't just a commission. This is a
movement of people. It goes way beyond the traditional MAGA
Republican based sure taxpayers demanding this change.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
And Elon Musk has a platform in which he can
shame politicians that nobody's had in the past, and that's
called X got it, John, Thank you John Hart, CEO
of Openedthebooks dot com at seven twenty seven
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