What If Government Agencies had to be Self Funding ?

I've had a thought, not sure if it's been discussed on here before.

What if Government agencies had to fund themselves, by using the proceeds from people that they found breaking the laws that they're supposed to be upholding.

IE.

SEC could be funded by seizing funds from insider traders that they successfully prosecute, or bank fraudsters that they catch

DEA could be funded from seizure of cash and weapons from drug raids

Homeland Security could be funded from cash seized from goods and people coming into the country illegally (ie, come to the US illegally, or ship to the USA illegally, have all your assets seized when captured)

Consumer Advocate Groups would be funded from fines paid by companies that they successfully prosecute

etc etc etc. The list goes on.

Wouldn't Government agencies be more apt to go after the things that they're supposed to be protecting the country against if that was their only source of funding?

I know some agencies seize money and property etc (esp DEA) when they go after villains, but this should be across the board.

It would be a huge savings for taxpayers, and would encourage those in those services to do better and actually go after the villains that they're supposed to be going after.

You want pay raises, bonuses, more equipment, etc, then DO YOUR JOB !

so a drug bust would give the DEA alot of money while the FBI has bit's and pieces of bombs and guys all looking to make a bust to get money for the organisation.. i think this is not a good idea for anyone

reply to post by babybunnies


CIA is self funded. And that goes for the rest of the Intelligence Agencies. They allocate money from any where they want, its in their provision constitutional rights. Regan or Some President signed it in.

There would be corruption on a massive scale as companies would try and bribe officials/get the laws changed to let them get away which would leave them just trying to shaft the poor person who made a mistake in their visa application such as spelling a town name slightly wrong especially if english is not their first alphabet and having all your property seized and sold on etc and you would end up with a zero tolerance situation where more and more laws would have financial penalties that are absurd just to balance the books such as damaging a tree in a federal forest even if it was only one tiny branch could cost you up to a million dollars etc

How long would it be before the DEA decides to plant drugs on some rich guy who the government has disagreements with, in order to seize his assets. But I suppose this is already a possibility under the rico law.

reply to post by babybunnies


Some are, such as the USPTO, but it would be a bad idea for most. I work for a govt. agency that gets a good deal of the budget through application fees, but if we had to go out and make up the rest through enforcement, that would make a lot of people unhappy.

Guys in black suites selling cookies on the street to help support the FBI I think maybe if Government agencies were run efficiently and with accountability it might go a long way to reducing their budget needs.

I'm afraid OP, that your suggestion (although admirable) would result in a dramatic increase in the formation of a police state. All of the cited departments, police homeland etc., would be at your door every 15 ,minutes to collect their pound for the week.

An idea about funding government agencies with stolen property and illegal activity is to politics/economy what conspiracy theories on this site are to the embarrassment of humanity.

All the agencies would be bankrupt in a week or so.

reply to post by babybunnies


When you create an institution to fight a problem, you create a means to sustain that problem. If you get funding from drug traffic, you need more drug traffic to get more funding, and so on. Remember the old story about a Chinese emperor and his doctor? The emperor paid the doctor while he was healthy, not ill. In these terms you suggest to pay more money for more severe and frequent illnesses. I can't see how this can make a situation better.

No no no no no! Agencies trying to fund themselves would lead to even more abuses of power than currently are occuring! CIA is already in the illegal drug trade. Local and federal law enforcement design raids based on how much they can confiscate. This is already happening to make up budget cuts. Just imagine if they had to completely support themselves!

reply to post by babybunnies


What If Government Agencies had to be Self Funding, you ask?

Well hello Iran-Contra affair part 2 then, I say.

Agencies have plenty of reasons to take cost/benefit approaches to their work. Let's not give them further reason to.

Some LEO/DEA already do this.

Seizures are sold to the public, and the proceed's are kept they have been doing that long time now.

Originally posted by Maxatoria
There would be corruption on a massive scale as companies would try and bribe officials/get the laws changed to let them get away which would leave them just trying to shaft the poor person who made a mistake in their visa application such as spelling a town name slightly wrong especially if english is not their first alphabet and having all your property seized and sold on etc and you would end up with a zero tolerance situation where more and more laws would have financial penalties that are absurd just to balance the books such as damaging a tree in a federal forest even if it was only one tiny branch could cost you up to a million dollars etc

There's corruption on a massive scale, right now, on the very level that you hypothetically speak of. Let them keep getting the big bucks from their drug dealings and other illicit activities. As taxpayers, the American public should be highly pissed by the simple fact of YOUR tax dollars financing your very oppression. The .gov is NOT using tax money to benefit the citizens that are dishing out said tax money. NONE of the alphabet agencies give a $#!+ about you or any other U.S. citizen.

They would be considered a legal mafia.

reply to post by babybunnies



This already happens and it is how small towns and rural areas with no tax base are militarizing their forces.

www.npr.org...

The US Marshalls have a similar program as I suspect do all the agencies...

www.usmarshals.gov...

I say it is a bad practice and results in overzealous, far reaching evidentiary hunting expeditions in which all the rules are written to make the seized assets difficult if not impossible for the accused to reclaim - it places the burden on the accused not the state which is ass backwards.

Others have already mentioned the problems that would arise from forced self funding. Kinda proves that government shouldn't always run a surplus or a balanced budget like a business would be run. Deficits are often necessary for public well being.

Why not let GAs self fund?
Well, when it comes to police:
you'ld be Mexico

Originally posted by DocHolidaze
They would be considered a legal mafia.

Hey Doc, they already are , bro.