Talk about non-essential government employees

A trillion dollars of government borrowing every year and the White House sees no place to cut.

It's amazing.

I could easily write a column every day for the rest of my life identifying another government agency, department or office that could be eliminated for unconstitutionality, excessive cost, waste, fraud, abuse and corruption.

Such cuts would save our grandchildren and great-grandchildren trillions of dollars. The nation would be freer. America would return closer to the founding principle of limited government under the rule of law and will of the people.

Today I'll give you a quick example.

Did you know there is an actual U.S. Office of Government Ethics?

Experience more of Joseph Farah's no-nonsense truth-telling in his books, audio and video products, featured in the WND Superstore

Really. It's not a joke. Well, on second thought, maybe it is a sick joke.

If this office, which holds expensive conferences every year attended by White House representatives, were actually performing a vital and necessary public service, the Washington scandals we see in the news every day would not be happening. That is presumably the function of this office – to prevent ethics violations by government officials and staff.

Also attending these confabs are high-level officials of the Federal Elections Commission, the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Justice.

But let me ask you a few rhetorical questions to help you evaluate the effectiveness of this office:

If we actually have an office in Washington that is supposed to service as an ethics watchdog on government, why do see so little from it?

How is it possible that Barack Obama's No. 1 critic in the 2012 campaign, filmmaker Dinesh D'Souza, was indicted for penny-ante, trumped-up campaign finance violations for some small donations to a congressional candidate in the last two weeks without a peep from this office?

How is it possible that after Dr. Ben Carson exercised his First Amendment rights to criticize the Obama administration at the Inaugural Prayer Breakfast that his personal and corporate finances suddenly came under intense scrutiny by the IRS?

How is it possible that the IRS still has two standards of approval for tax-exempt status – one for conservatives and critics of Obama and the other for everyone else?

How could it be that Obama's own presidential campaigns accepted and never paid back foreign political contributions in 2008 and 2012 and were never investigated, reported on by the Office of Government Ethics, FEC or punished in any way?

I suppose I could go with dozens more questions, but you get the point.

Ethics watchdog? You've got to be kidding.

"Government ethics" is an oxymoron in America today.

The Office of Government Ethics is a bad joke, a political jobs program, a sham, a worthless boondoggle – one of hundreds or even thousands of similar government programs and agencies in Washington.

It's nothing but a cruel hoax on the American people, who are forced to pay for it and other similar government con jobs.

Nonessential government employees?

With the state of government ethics in America today – particularly in Washington, and particularly at the executive branch – the Office of Government Ethics should be the busiest and most newsworthy agency in the U.S. But, judging from what we hear – or don't hear – from this office, I would suggest it is not only not part of the solution, it's part of the problem.

In fact, it's part of the cover-up, stonewall and whitewash machine.

I'd be happy to hear from anyone who works in the bureaucracy to set me straight. I'd love to know how I am wrong or how I misjudged the hard-working paper-pushers. But I don't expect it. I won't hold my breath. The corruption in Washington is reaching new, astounding heights. It makes you wonder who's minding the store at the Office of Government Ethics – or why the store doesn't get shut down.

Media wishing to interview Joseph Farah, please contact [email protected].