Welcome to the Committee Committee

Here's another one from the I-wish-I-could-make-this-up file. Ohio Democrats think the state has too many boards and commissions (and I can't help but agree). The obvious solution is to make a new commission to study the problem. Except there already is a nine-member commission doing exactly that:

Ohio House Democrats say the state has too many boards and commissions and could save money by eliminating or combining about 100 of them.

Lawmakers who proposed a bill to prune some panels on Thursday say many are no longer necessary or duplicate work done elsewhere in state government. Their targets include the Foreign Language Advisory Council, Ski Tramway Board, Ohio Beekeepers Task Force and the Task Force to Eliminate Health Services Duplication.

But some Republicans say the Democrats' effort itself is overlapping work already being done by a nine-member committee. It has been hearing testimony from scores of state boards and commissions and plans to recommend cutting some later this year.

A Huge Insurance Company with an Army

I wish I was clever enough to make this stuff up. Paul Krugman today said the U.S. federal government is really just "a huge insurance company with an army." And yes, he thinks that's a good thing.

The basic picture of the federal government you should have in mind is that it’s essentially a huge insurance company with an army; Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid — all of which spend the great bulk of their funds on making payments, not on administration — plus defense are the big items.

I mean honestly, a huge insurance company with an army? What could go wrong with that?