Call for a New Fiscal Constitution to Reshape the Federal Government

For more than a century the federal budget operated under tight constitutional and informal borrowing constraints, but those limits have eroded, allowing the government to grow unchecked. The author asserts that modest tweaks are insufficient and calls for a radical restructuring, likening it to major surgery rather than a simple fix. Earlier reform initiatives like DOGE and the current fraud-focused task force have failed to deliver realistic savings.

A proposed Government Transformation Task Force, to be established by executive order, would assemble seasoned public- and private-sector leaders to evaluate each department against its constitutional and statutory purpose. It would also create a suite of outcome-based national indicators covering economic, diplomatic, security and domestic performance, enabling both federal and state entities to benchmark progress. The task force could recommend actions ranging from consolidation and devolution to privatization and expansion, effectively drafting a new fiscal constitution.