Private firms, not govt employees, should be hired to scour the books for waste, fraud and abuse of taxpayer money. For every dollar in pointless programs and overblown salaries eliminated, the company gets half, and the other half is returned to the treasury and the taxpayers.

The profit motive would ensure the private cost-cutting firms don't fall prey to govt corruption; they'd get rich cutting the fedgov down to size (about 5% of its current mass); and Americans would benefit from coast to coast.