OPINION:
In an effort to run the country like a business and to protect the Trump administration’s agenda from the government employees who are trying to sabotage it, President Trump recently announced he would go forward with a plan to reclassify some of these workers, making it easier to remove them from their taxpayer-funded jobs (“Trump administration moves to reclassify federal employees, making them easier to fire,” Web, April 18).
I applaud the president’s efforts to run the country like a business. It’s the only way we will ever balance the federal budget and bring our massive $36 trillion federal debt down to a manageable level. As “CEO” of the country, aside from overseeing the Department of Government Efficiency’s contributions to trimming federal waste, fraud and abuse from the expense side of the national ledger, President Trump should also look into ways of maximizing tax revenue-enhancing ideas, particularly pain-free ones that would be wildly popular with Democrats, Republicans, employees and employers alike.
One example: an executive order making Presidents Day a floating holiday that automatically backs up the Super Bowl. The day after Super Bowl Sunday is one of the least productive work days of the year due to high levels of absenteeism and hungover employees who are just “mailing it in,” costing U.S. businesses $3 billion in lost productivity. With the current tax rate at 21%, that’s $640 million in revenue that could easily be restored to the U.S. Treasury with just one stroke of the president’s Sharpie. It would also do wonders for national employee morale.
Moreover, as any good CEO would do, Trump should try to find creative ways to incentivize citizens offering up creative ideas to help maximize federal revenue. I’d call it “The DOGE 1% Rule.” If a person submits a great idea that either saves money or increases tax revenue, that person should receive a one-time, 1% commission on the economic impact of the idea.
FREDDIE DUNN
Medford, New York
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