Reinventing Government (3/4/98)
Two wrongs may not make a right, but two problems may make an ingenious solution in the wacky world of Washington.Problem #1: Turns out the Republicans want to decide to wipe out the existing tax code in the year 2001, and work between now and then in the hopes of having a replacement ready. Washington Democrats joined with a consortium of sane people in decrying the plan as misguided, based as it is on the concept of the federal government accomplishing something in less than three years.
Problem #2: Turns out that the government, to the almost universal surprise of the American population, is woefully unprepared for the Year 2000 bug. As many people know, the Year 2000 bug is a virus, spread through E-Mail, that will destroy the entire global computer system on January 1, 2000. The only computers immune to the virus are Commodore 64's, and experts are worried that the resulting rise in popularity of "Jumpman" and "Ballblazer" could damage the world's productivity beyond repair.
Then, some enterprising government types had an idea. If the entire government was going to self-destruct anyway in two years, why argue about making one part of it self-destruct a year after that? Rather than spend the next three years worrying about making a new tax code, they argue, why not spend the next two years hoping we can come up with an entirely new way of life and government?
We here at TMC NewsBreak applaud the forward thinking of our leaders, and are looking forward to seeing you all during the food riots of 2002. Just stay away from our Ravioli-O's or we'll have to snap your spine like a twig.
