- Public servants are paid to serve the American people. Do it well.
- Congress, the press and the bureaucracy too often focus on how much money or effort is spent, rather than whether the money or effort actually achieves the announced goal.
- It is very difficult to spend “federal (the taxpayers’) dollars” so that the intended result is achieved.
- Beware when any idea is promoted primarily because it is “bold, exciting, innovative and new.” There are many ideas that are “bold, exciting, innovative and new,” but also foolish.
- The federal government should be the last resort, not the first. Ask if a potential program is truly a federal responsibility or whether it can better be handled privately, by voluntary organizations, or by local or state governments.
- As former Rep. Tom Curtis of Missouri said, “Public money drives out private money.”
- Strive to make proposed solutions as self-executing as possible. As the degree of discretion increases, so too do bureaucracy, delay and expense.
- Presidential leadership needn’t always cost money. Look for low- and no-cost options. They can be surprisingly effective.
- Include others. As former Sen. Pat Moynihan (D., N.Y.) said, “Stubborn opposition to proposals often has no other basis than the complaining question, ‘Why wasn’t I consulted?’ “
- Watch for the “not invented here” syndrome.
- “The atmosphere in which social legislation is considered is not a friend of truth.”–Pat Moynihan
- If in doubt, don’t.
- If still in doubt, do what’s right.
- Treat each federal dollar as if it was hard earned. It was–by a taxpayer.
- “Try to analyze situations intelligently, anticipate problems and move swiftly to solve them. However, when you’re up to your ears in alligators, it is difficult to remember that the reason you’re there is to drain the swamp.”–Unknown
- “In Washington, D.C., the size of a farewell party may be directly proportional to the honoree’s new position and their prospective ability to dispense largess.”–D.G. Cross
- “Every government looking at the actions of another government and trying to explain them always exaggerates rationality and conspiracy, and underestimates incompetency and fortuity.”–Silberman’s Law of Diplomacy, U.S. Circuit Court Judge Laurence Silberman