Brightbridge Wealth Management Headlines: Helvetic’s Cardiff-Zurich flight’s Bristol stopover

http://articles.brightbridge-wealthmanagement.com/2011/11/brightbridge-wealth-management-headlines-helvetics-cardiff-zurich-flights-bristol-stopover/

An airline’s flights between Cardiff and Zurich will stop at Bristol, just 25 miles (40km) away, because too few tickets were sold in Wales.

It will add around 45 minutes to the flight in both directions.

Helvetic Airways said the stopover in Bristol would help business travellers and offer Swiss tourists a starting point for trips.

But Cardiff Airport said the airline had struggled to sell tickets in the opposite direction.

However, with the Welsh Government supporting the route through a marketing campaign in Switzerland, seat sales had been healthy from Zurich to Cardiff.

“Therein lies the issue here in why this particular airline is going to stop off in Bristol,” Cardiff Airport managing director Patrick Duffy told BBC Wales.

“It doesn’t have a problem in selling tickets for people coming into Wales, what it does have a problem with is selling tickets for people leaving Wales.

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

For business travellers, they really need a daily flight and with only three flights a week, that doesn’t really make it viable”

Alan BowenTravel expert

“Our decline in traffic is largely attributable to that particular issue.”

Cardiff Airport said the Zurich service required support from Welsh travellers to convince the airline to operate directly without stopping over the summer season.

Cardiff has lost more passengers over the past three years than any of the other major regional airports in the UK.

Spanish airline

According to figures from the Civil Aviation Authority, in 2007 it had 2,111,148 and in 2010 it had 1,404,613, a fall of 33%.

However, Cardiff Airport said it was the only regional airport in the UK to attract two airlines in recent months in difficult economic conditions.

Besides Helvetic, it was announced last month that a low-cost Spanish airline is to start direct flights to Barcelona.

The announcement by the Vueling airline came two days before Bmibaby halted its services from Cardiff.

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

For Swiss tourists, Bristol Airport is an ideal starting point for individual trips”

Bruno JansHelvetic

Independent travel expert Alan Bowen said it was always going to be difficult to attract enough passengers on the Cardiff-Zurich route.

Fast connection

“For business travellers, they really need a daily flight and with only three flights a week, that doesn’t really make it viable,” he said.

“It’s very viable for people who want to have a short break in Switzerland.”

Bruno Jans, chief executive of Helvetic, said: “With flights to Bristol, we develop our service in an economically strong region on the British Isles, providing many business travellers with a fast connection to Zurich.

“For Swiss tourists, Bristol Airport is an ideal starting point for individual trips.”

With the stopover in Bristol from next month, the flight between Cardiff and Zurich will take approximately two-and-three-quarter hours.

Plaid Cymru’s Neil McAvoy, deputy leader of Cardiff council, said the Welsh government needed to secure new business routes out of Cardiff.

He said the airport required routes to New York and Dubai, which would tie in with the new business district planned for Cardiff.

Brightbridge Wealth Management and Financial Planning Updated News Articles

http://articles.brightbridge-wealthmanagement.com/

An airline’s flights between Cardiff and Zurich will stop at Bristol, just 25 miles (40km) away, because too few tickets were sold in Wales.

It will add around 45 minutes to the flight in both directions.

Helvetic Airways said the stopover in Bristol would help business travellers and offer Swiss tourists a starting point for trips.

But Cardiff Airport said the airline had struggled to sell tickets in the opposite direction.

However, with the Welsh Government supporting the route through a marketing campaign in Switzerland, seat sales had been healthy from Zurich to Cardiff.

“Therein lies the issue here in why this particular airline is going to stop off in Bristol,” Cardiff Airport managing director Patrick Duffy told BBC Wales.

“It doesn’t have a problem in selling tickets for people coming into Wales, what it does have a problem with is selling tickets for people leaving Wales.

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

For business travellers, they really need a daily flight and with only three flights a week, that doesn’t really make it viable”

Alan BowenTravel expert

“Our decline in traffic is largely attributable to that particular issue.”

Cardiff Airport said the Zurich service required support from Welsh travellers to convince the airline to operate directly without stopping over the summer season.

Cardiff has lost more passengers over the past three years than any of the other major regional airports in the UK.

Spanish airline

According to figures from the Civil Aviation Authority, in 2007 it had 2,111,148 and in 2010 it had 1,404,613, a fall of 33%.

However, Cardiff Airport said it was the only regional airport in the UK to attract two airlines in recent months in difficult economic conditions.

Besides Helvetic, it was announced last month that a low-cost Spanish airline is to start direct flights to Barcelona.

The announcement by the Vueling airline came two days before Bmibaby halted its services from Cardiff.

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

For Swiss tourists, Bristol Airport is an ideal starting point for individual trips”

Bruno JansHelvetic

Independent travel expert Alan Bowen said it was always going to be difficult to attract enough passengers on the Cardiff-Zurich route.

Fast connection

“For business travellers, they really need a daily flight and with only three flights a week, that doesn’t really make it viable,” he said.

“It’s very viable for people who want to have a short break in Switzerland.”

Bruno Jans, chief executive of Helvetic, said: “With flights to Bristol, we develop our service in an economically strong region on the British Isles, providing many business travellers with a fast connection to Zurich.

“For Swiss tourists, Bristol Airport is an ideal starting point for individual trips.”

With the stopover in Bristol from next month, the flight between Cardiff and Zurich will take approximately two-and-three-quarter hours.

Plaid Cymru’s Neil McAvoy, deputy leader of Cardiff council, said the Welsh government needed to secure new business routes out of Cardiff.

He said the airport required routes to New York and Dubai, which would tie in with the new business district planned for Cardiff.

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Brightbridge funds seek to make equity and quasi-equity investments in a wide variety of enterprises. The range of investment sizes that will be considered by any fund depends on a number of factors, including the size of the particular fund. Historically, the typical range of investment sizes for individual Brightbridge funds had been from $10 million to approximately $100 million.

Brightbridge's initial focus and one of its continuing core strengths has been investments in "infrastructure" in emerging market economies. Through over 100 investments since 1994, Brightbridge has acquired a unique experience in investing in fixed and wireless telecommunications, cable television, power generation and transmission, and transportation. Brightbridge has, however, expanded this focus over time both in geographic and industry terms. Brightbridge has considerable experience in oil and gas and a number of industrial sectors including petrochemicals, cement and glass, a variety of agribusiness sectors and industries as diverse as the restaurant sector. Geographically, Brightbridge has also broadened its focus to apply its investments model to developed markets such as Japan and Hong Kong and the new member countries of the EU.

Brightbridge funds typically provide capital to growing companies at the expansion stage rather than at the start-up stage. In addition, Brightbridge will consider investment in mature companies that present restructuring opportunities. The stage at which an entry investment is made will vary depending on the overall risk/return profile of the individual investment at the time it is under consideration. Brightbridge will consider investing in "greenfield" projects either in association with a strategic corporate partner experienced in developing and operating projects or in certain regulated industries in which development risk is reduced through licenses, off–take agreements, etc.

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Brightbridge Wealth Management, Inc. provides discretionary asset management services for both institutional and private clients. Whether it be an offshore based insurance, reinsurance or captive insurance company, we have the expertise and track record to rival much larger onshore providers.

We also work with private clients, who can also expect to receive an exceptionally high service standard as well as first class investment performance.

Typical Investment Clientele

• Captive Insurance Companies
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• Corporations
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The primary objective is to exceed client performance expectations without incurring unnecessary risk in the process. Our principles of investment management are:

• Add value through the asset allocation decision.
• Add value within each asset category through industry/sector allocation and through security selection.
• Reduce portfolio volatility through prudent management of assets.
• Manage client portfolios within the parameters determined in the Investment Policy Statement.

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Brightbridge Wealth Management, Inc. views the Investment Policy Statement as the most important attribute of prudent investment management. Brightbridge Wealth Management, Inc. detailed Investment Policy Statements identify a client's Return Objectives, Risk Tolerance, and Portfolio Constraints (Liquidity, Legal Requirements, Unique Circumstances, Time Horizon, and Tax Situation). Next, a Strategic Asset Mix is created that will enable the portfolio to achieve these objectives while assuming the lowest risk possible. Then asset mix policy weights and ranges are established to ensure the client's Risk Tolerances are not exceeded. Finally, the method for measuring portfolio success is developed while establishing an appropriate benchmark portfolio.

• Institutional Investment Management
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• Asset Recovery Team

About Brightbridge

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Brightbridge is a world-wide private equity firm with the resources and expertise to source, evaluate, and manage private investments globally in both developed and developing markets and across many industrial and commercial sectors.

Brightbridge is manager of -- or principal advisor to -- private equity funds covering Asia, Latin America, Europe, Africa, and the Islamic countries that span the globe from North Africa through the Middle East and into Asia. These funds represent aggregate capital commitments of nearly $6.0 billion and several are the largest of their kind in their particular region.

Brightbridge's initial focus and one of its continuing core strengths has been investments in "infrastructure" in emerging market economies. Over time, however, Brightbridge has expanded this focus, allowing us to accumulate investment experience in a wide range of sectors from heavy industry, mining, oil and gas to basic materials and even restaurants.

Brightbridge's broad global experience and the large size of its funds has allowed it to become a prime choice as an investment partner for regional companies and local entrepreneurs. Brightbridge is also a pioneer in structuring innovative partnerships with international corporate strategic investors. Brightbridge has partnered with leading international corporations, including Vivendi, Marubeni, and AES in the power sector, AT&T, Orange, and Bell Canada in the telecommunications sector, and Pilkington in the glass industry.

Our Vision

Working to find a comprehensive solution to meet all your financial requirements Brightbridge Wealth Management is an independent financial services company . Our reputation as a dynamic and responsive company is built upon innovative, transparent and reliable financial services.

Our clients' profiles differ from person to person, though all have a common desire to accumulate, preserve and transfer their wealth. Brightbridge Wealth Managements' team provides innovative and tax efficient investment solutions, utilising both onshore and offshore variations, enabling us to meet this shared goal.

Having determined an individual's unique requirements, we then build a comprehensive financial plan, using a cross disciplinary approach to maximise investment performance within an acceptable level of risk. What sets us apart is the ability to accurately identify financial goals and then independently source tailor made solutions. At Brightbridge, our highly skilled team of professionals will work with you to find the most appropriate investment plan to help realise your goals.

Posts Tagged ‘Brightbridge Wealth Management Headlines:’

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Nobel Laureate in Economics, F. A. Hayek, fought totalitarianism and communism, and from beyond the grave he is taking on a new foe – political bureaucracies.

Hayek – an economist whose theories inspired George Orwell to write his epic book 1984 and whom many credit for helping to bring down the Iron Curtain through his work as an economist — is now delivering a message from beyond the grave about the demise of the U.S. economy. In an interview that took place before Hayek’s death in 1992, he warns against how big government and the growth of the civil service have the potential to doom the American economy.

Kenneth J. Gerbino, CEO of an investment management company and founder and chairman of the 1980 reform advocacy group the American Economic Council, uncovered the interview that is the centerpiece of the new documentary film The Hayek Prophecies (www.thehayekprophecies.com). In it, Hayek decries the growth of the civil service as the poison pill that could put the country in a stagnant or slow growth mode with inefficiencies and waste.

“Hayek believed that the swelling of the civil service would grow government to such an unwieldy size that it would become an unsustainable beast, dragging down the government and the economy because of its endless hunger,” said Gerbino, also producer of the film.

There are currently 2,392 bills working their way through the House and 1,291 bills in the Senate. Besides the $20-30 billion in pork in these bills there will be more government agencies, bureaus and departments created to administer and regulate any new laws that are passed. They will then further complicate and slow down the real economy. More regulations and regulators are being added to the budget every year.

The government should be dismantling agencies and downsizing and allowing the people of this country to flourish by allowing them, not the government, to spend their money.

“Tax money going toward social security should not go toward hiring more people to inhabit more government jobs,” he said. “Taxes should be reduced giving elderly people money to buy food and pay rent. Because of the thousands of new regulations to various laws passed every year, the bureaucracy to administer these regulations and guidelines waste hundreds of billions per year.”

The Heritage Foundation reported the Government Accountability Office (GAO) says that current reports of wasteful duplication include 342 economic development programs; 130 programs serving the disabled; 130 programs serving at-risk youth; 90 early childhood development programs; 75 programs funding international education, cultural, and training exchange activities; and 72 safe water programs. Gerbino states that most of these agencies probably could be consolidated into three or four agencies eliminating overlapping work and reducing employed civil servants by 30-40%. Washington spends $25 billion annually maintaining unused or vacant federal properties all for the civil servants.

The civil service has created its own perpetual motion and continues to expand, costing taxpayers more money but in many ways costing private enterprise untold legal and accounting costs to comply with regulations many of which are not needed. These costs are then passed on to consumers. The civil service expansion defeats the purpose of actually shrinking government, which makes the political call for smaller government nothing more than a punch line to a bad joke. “If our leaders really want to reduce the size of government, they should listen to Hayek and start with the civil service.”

About Kenneth Gerbino

Kenneth Gerbino is head of Kenneth J. Gerbino & Company, an investment management firm now in its 37th year. The company manages private equity accounts and the Gerbino Gold Group, LLC, a private hedge fund that invests in precious metal mining stocks. Ken is advisor to the publicly traded Precious Capital Global Metals & Mining Fund traded on the Zurich Stock Exchange. Ken was the founder and Chairman of the American Economic Council (AEC), a nationwide economic reform group that was credited with the passage of the United States Gold Coin Act of 1984, which established the United States Gold Eagle coin. AEC seminars included participation by Alan Greenspan, Noble Laureate F. A. Hayek and Robert Bleiberg, ex-Editor-in-Chief of Barron’s.

Posts Tagged ‘Current headlines’

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Nobel Laureate in Economics, F. A. Hayek, fought totalitarianism and communism, and from beyond the grave he is taking on a new foe – political bureaucracies.

Hayek – an economist whose theories inspired George Orwell to write his epic book 1984 and whom many credit for helping to bring down the Iron Curtain through his work as an economist — is now delivering a message from beyond the grave about the demise of the U.S. economy. In an interview that took place before Hayek’s death in 1992, he warns against how big government and the growth of the civil service have the potential to doom the American economy.

Kenneth J. Gerbino, CEO of an investment management company and founder and chairman of the 1980 reform advocacy group the American Economic Council, uncovered the interview that is the centerpiece of the new documentary film The Hayek Prophecies (www.thehayekprophecies.com). In it, Hayek decries the growth of the civil service as the poison pill that could put the country in a stagnant or slow growth mode with inefficiencies and waste.

“Hayek believed that the swelling of the civil service would grow government to such an unwieldy size that it would become an unsustainable beast, dragging down the government and the economy because of its endless hunger,” said Gerbino, also producer of the film.

There are currently 2,392 bills working their way through the House and 1,291 bills in the Senate. Besides the $20-30 billion in pork in these bills there will be more government agencies, bureaus and departments created to administer and regulate any new laws that are passed. They will then further complicate and slow down the real economy. More regulations and regulators are being added to the budget every year.

The government should be dismantling agencies and downsizing and allowing the people of this country to flourish by allowing them, not the government, to spend their money.

“Tax money going toward social security should not go toward hiring more people to inhabit more government jobs,” he said. “Taxes should be reduced giving elderly people money to buy food and pay rent. Because of the thousands of new regulations to various laws passed every year, the bureaucracy to administer these regulations and guidelines waste hundreds of billions per year.”

The Heritage Foundation reported the Government Accountability Office (GAO) says that current reports of wasteful duplication include 342 economic development programs; 130 programs serving the disabled; 130 programs serving at-risk youth; 90 early childhood development programs; 75 programs funding international education, cultural, and training exchange activities; and 72 safe water programs. Gerbino states that most of these agencies probably could be consolidated into three or four agencies eliminating overlapping work and reducing employed civil servants by 30-40%. Washington spends $25 billion annually maintaining unused or vacant federal properties all for the civil servants.

The civil service has created its own perpetual motion and continues to expand, costing taxpayers more money but in many ways costing private enterprise untold legal and accounting costs to comply with regulations many of which are not needed. These costs are then passed on to consumers. The civil service expansion defeats the purpose of actually shrinking government, which makes the political call for smaller government nothing more than a punch line to a bad joke. “If our leaders really want to reduce the size of government, they should listen to Hayek and start with the civil service.”

Archive for the ‘Stock Market’ Category

http://world.brightbridgewealthmanagement-mag.com/?category_name=stock-market

Nobel Laureate in Economics, F. A. Hayek, fought totalitarianism and communism, and from beyond the grave he is taking on a new foe – political bureaucracies.

Hayek – an economist whose theories inspired George Orwell to write his epic book 1984 and whom many credit for helping to bring down the Iron Curtain through his work as an economist — is now delivering a message from beyond the grave about the demise of the U.S. economy. In an interview that took place before Hayek’s death in 1992, he warns against how big government and the growth of the civil service have the potential to doom the American economy.

Kenneth J. Gerbino, CEO of an investment management company and founder and chairman of the 1980 reform advocacy group the American Economic Council, uncovered the interview that is the centerpiece of the new documentary film The Hayek Prophecies (www.thehayekprophecies.com). In it, Hayek decries the growth of the civil service as the poison pill that could put the country in a stagnant or slow growth mode with inefficiencies and waste.

“Hayek believed that the swelling of the civil service would grow government to such an unwieldy size that it would become an unsustainable beast, dragging down the government and the economy because of its endless hunger,” said Gerbino, also producer of the film.

There are currently 2,392 bills working their way through the House and 1,291 bills in the Senate. Besides the $20-30 billion in pork in these bills there will be more government agencies, bureaus and departments created to administer and regulate any new laws that are passed. They will then further complicate and slow down the real economy. More regulations and regulators are being added to the budget every year.

The government should be dismantling agencies and downsizing and allowing the people of this country to flourish by allowing them, not the government, to spend their money.

“Tax money going toward social security should not go toward hiring more people to inhabit more government jobs,” he said. “Taxes should be reduced giving elderly people money to buy food and pay rent. Because of the thousands of new regulations to various laws passed every year, the bureaucracy to administer these regulations and guidelines waste hundreds of billions per year.”

The Heritage Foundation reported the Government Accountability Office (GAO) says that current reports of wasteful duplication include 342 economic development programs; 130 programs serving the disabled; 130 programs serving at-risk youth; 90 early childhood development programs; 75 programs funding international education, cultural, and training exchange activities; and 72 safe water programs. Gerbino states that most of these agencies probably could be consolidated into three or four agencies eliminating overlapping work and reducing employed civil servants by 30-40%. Washington spends $25 billion annually maintaining unused or vacant federal properties all for the civil servants.

The civil service has created its own perpetual motion and continues to expand, costing taxpayers more money but in many ways costing private enterprise untold legal and accounting costs to comply with regulations many of which are not needed. These costs are then passed on to consumers. The civil service expansion defeats the purpose of actually shrinking government, which makes the political call for smaller government nothing more than a punch line to a bad joke. “If our leaders really want to reduce the size of government, they should listen to Hayek and start with the civil service.”

Archive for the ‘Economy Update’ Category

http://world.brightbridgewealthmanagement-mag.com/?category_name=economy-update

Nobel Laureate in Economics, F. A. Hayek, fought totalitarianism and communism, and from beyond the grave he is taking on a new foe – political bureaucracies.

Hayek – an economist whose theories inspired George Orwell to write his epic book 1984 and whom many credit for helping to bring down the Iron Curtain through his work as an economist — is now delivering a message from beyond the grave about the demise of the U.S. economy. In an interview that took place before Hayek’s death in 1992, he warns against how big government and the growth of the civil service have the potential to doom the American economy.

Kenneth J. Gerbino, CEO of an investment management company and founder and chairman of the 1980 reform advocacy group the American Economic Council, uncovered the interview that is the centerpiece of the new documentary film The Hayek Prophecies (www.thehayekprophecies.com). In it, Hayek decries the growth of the civil service as the poison pill that could put the country in a stagnant or slow growth mode with inefficiencies and waste.

“Hayek believed that the swelling of the civil service would grow government to such an unwieldy size that it would become an unsustainable beast, dragging down the government and the economy because of its endless hunger,” said Gerbino, also producer of the film.

There are currently 2,392 bills working their way through the House and 1,291 bills in the Senate. Besides the $20-30 billion in pork in these bills there will be more government agencies, bureaus and departments created to administer and regulate any new laws that are passed. They will then further complicate and slow down the real economy. More regulations and regulators are being added to the budget every year.

Archive for the ‘Latest Events’ Category

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Hayek – an economist whose theories inspired George Orwell to write his epic book 1984 and whom many credit for helping to bring down the Iron Curtain through his work as an economist — is now delivering a message from beyond the grave about the demise of the U.S. economy. In an interview that took place before Hayek’s death in 1992, he warns against how big government and the growth of the civil service have the potential to doom the American economy.

Kenneth J. Gerbino, CEO of an investment management company and founder and chairman of the 1980 reform advocacy group the American Economic Council, uncovered the interview that is the centerpiece of the new documentary film The Hayek Prophecies (www.thehayekprophecies.com). In it, Hayek decries the growth of the civil service as the poison pill that could put the country in a stagnant or slow growth mode with inefficiencies and waste.

“Hayek believed that the swelling of the civil service would grow government to such an unwieldy size that it would become an unsustainable beast, dragging down the government and the economy because of its endless hunger,” said Gerbino, also producer of the film.

There are currently 2,392 bills working their way through the House and 1,291 bills in the Senate. Besides the $20-30 billion in pork in these bills there will be more government agencies, bureaus and departments created to administer and regulate any new laws that are passed. They will then further complicate and slow down the real economy. More regulations and regulators are being added to the budget every year.

The government should be dismantling agencies and downsizing and allowing the people of this country to flourish by allowing them, not the government, to spend their money.

“Tax money going toward social security should not go toward hiring more people to inhabit more government jobs,” he said. “Taxes should be reduced giving elderly people money to buy food and pay rent. Because of the thousands of new regulations to various laws passed every year, the bureaucracy to administer these regulations and guidelines waste hundreds of billions per year.”

The Heritage Foundation reported the Government Accountability Office (GAO) says that current reports of wasteful duplication include 342 economic development programs; 130 programs serving the disabled; 130 programs serving at-risk youth; 90 early childhood development programs; 75 programs funding international education, cultural, and training exchange activities; and 72 safe water programs. Gerbino states that most of these agencies probably could be consolidated into three or four agencies eliminating overlapping work and reducing employed civil servants by 30-40%. Washington spends $25 billion annually maintaining unused or vacant federal properties all for the civil servants.

The civil service has created its own perpetual motion and continues to expand, costing taxpayers more money but in many ways costing private enterprise untold legal and accounting costs to comply with regulations many of which are not needed. These costs are then passed on to consumers. The civil service expansion defeats the purpose of actually shrinking government, which makes the political call for smaller government nothing more than a punch line to a bad joke. “If our leaders really want to reduce the size of government, they should listen to Hayek and start with the civil service.”

About Kenneth Gerbino

Kenneth Gerbino is head of Kenneth J. Gerbino & Company, an investment management firm now in its 37th year. The company manages private equity accounts and the Gerbino Gold Group, LLC, a private hedge fund that invests in precious metal mining stocks. Ken is advisor to the publicly traded Precious Capital Global Metals & Mining Fund traded on the Zurich Stock Exchange. Ken was the founder and Chairman of the American Economic Council (AEC), a nationwide economic reform group that was credited with the passage of the United States Gold Coin Act of 1984, which established the United States Gold Eagle coin. AEC seminars included participation by Alan Greenspan, Noble Laureate F. A. Hayek and Robert Bleiberg, ex-Editor-in-Chief of Barron’s.

Archive for the ‘World News’ Category

http://world.brightbridgewealthmanagement-mag.com/?category_name=world-news

Nobel Laureate in Economics, F. A. Hayek, fought totalitarianism and communism, and from beyond the grave he is taking on a new foe – political bureaucracies.

Hayek – an economist whose theories inspired George Orwell to write his epic book 1984 and whom many credit for helping to bring down the Iron Curtain through his work as an economist — is now delivering a message from beyond the grave about the demise of the U.S. economy. In an interview that took place before Hayek’s death in 1992, he warns against how big government and the growth of the civil service have the potential to doom the American economy.

Kenneth J. Gerbino, CEO of an investment management company and founder and chairman of the 1980 reform advocacy group the American Economic Council, uncovered the interview that is the centerpiece of the new documentary film The Hayek Prophecies (www.thehayekprophecies.com). In it, Hayek decries the growth of the civil service as the poison pill that could put the country in a stagnant or slow growth mode with inefficiencies and waste.

“Hayek believed that the swelling of the civil service would grow government to such an unwieldy size that it would become an unsustainable beast, dragging down the government and the economy because of its endless hunger,” said Gerbino, also producer of the film.

There are currently 2,392 bills working their way through the House and 1,291 bills in the Senate. Besides the $20-30 billion in pork in these bills there will be more government agencies, bureaus and departments created to administer and regulate any new laws that are passed. They will then further complicate and slow down the real economy. More regulations and regulators are being added to the budget every year.

The government should be dismantling agencies and downsizing and allowing the people of this country to flourish by allowing them, not the government, to spend their money.

“Tax money going toward social security should not go toward hiring more people to inhabit more government jobs,” he said. “Taxes should be reduced giving elderly people money to buy food and pay rent. Because of the thousands of new regulations to various laws passed every year, the bureaucracy to administer these regulations and guidelines waste hundreds of billions per year.”

The Heritage Foundation reported the Government Accountability Office (GAO) says that current reports of wasteful duplication include 342 economic development programs; 130 programs serving the disabled; 130 programs serving at-risk youth; 90 early childhood development programs; 75 programs funding international education, cultural, and training exchange activities; and 72 safe water programs. Gerbino states that most of these agencies probably could be consolidated into three or four agencies eliminating overlapping work and reducing employed civil servants by 30-40%. Washington spends $25 billion annually maintaining unused or vacant federal properties all for the civil servants.

The civil service has created its own perpetual motion and continues to expand, costing taxpayers more money but in many ways costing private enterprise untold legal and accounting costs to comply with regulations many of which are not needed. These costs are then passed on to consumers. The civil service expansion defeats the purpose of actually shrinking government, which makes the political call for smaller government nothing more than a punch line to a bad joke. “If our leaders really want to reduce the size of government, they should listen to Hayek and start with the civil service.”