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>> book makes it clear that the Secret Service is constantly underfunded it is critical that we recognize a few truths before we declare something "underfunded

>> book makes it clear that the Secret Service is constantly underfunded it is critical that we recognize a few truths before we declare something "underfunded" 1. No amount of funding will ever "be enough". Government programs and depts expand to meet their budget + 25-50%... so they are always underfunded, you can increase a budget by 2x, 3x, 5x, and the very next year they will be claiming "we do not have enough money" 2. Where is the money going.... Often in government budgets essentials (like fleet repair) are cut in favor of non-essentials in order to make the budget issue into a "crisis". It is much easier to blackmail the public /congress/ who ever that is controlling the budget with "We have to use our personal cars" instead of "We had to give up our Cappuccino's" . Just because essential services are being cut does not mean nonessential services have. This is seen in local government often when they cut the big 4 (schools, fire, police, roads) first because it is easy to pass a tax increase for those 4 items than any other local service / program.

mschuster91 4y ago
> 1. No amount of funding will ever "be enough". Government programs and depts expand to meet their budget + 25-50%... so they are always underfunded, you can increase a budget by 2x, 3x, 5x, and the very next year they will be claiming "we do not have enough money" Well, the scope that the general public (or the impact of freshly passed laws) also continuously expands, and payment/contractor/vendor costs rise as well, which explains some of the demand for more funding. A part of the blame also lies in parliament groups not doing effective auditing and oversight on government agencies, which can differentiate between legitimate growth (for reasons outlined above) and cancerous growth (as described by you).
foota 4y ago
Looks like they get ~3 billion a year and employ 8000 people. Seems like chump change. They have responsibilities beyond just protecting the president.
Retric 4y ago
The less politically interesting government agencies tend to work surprisingly well with minimal budget and no need for games. The National Transportation Safety Board for example has a 2023 budget request of 129 million. They are simply for too tiny and useful for anyone to really mess with. The National Weather Service might have 10x the budget still generally gets ignored by politicians as so many companies, people, and government agencies depend on what they provide.
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mschuster91 4y ago

> 1. No amount of funding will ever "be enough". Government programs and depts expand to meet their budget + 25-50%... so they are always underfunded, you can increase a budget by 2x, 3x, 5x, and the very next year they will be claiming "we do not have enough money" Well, the scope that the general public (or the impact of freshly passed laws) also continuously expands, and payment/contractor/vendor costs rise as well, which explains some of the demand for more funding. A part of the blame also lies in parliament groups not doing effective auditing and oversight on government agencies, which can differentiate between legitimate growth (for reasons outlined above) and cancerous growth (as described by you).

foota 4y ago

Looks like they get ~3 billion a year and employ 8000 people. Seems like chump change. They have responsibilities beyond just protecting the president.

Retric 4y ago

The less politically interesting government agencies tend to work surprisingly well with minimal budget and no need for games. The National Transportation Safety Board for example has a 2023 budget request of 129 million. They are simply for too tiny and useful for anyone to really mess with. The National Weather Service might have 10x the budget still generally gets ignored by politicians as so many companies, people, and government agencies depend on what they provide.

deleted 4y ago

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