President Donald Trump’s call to reduce bureaucratic bloat through the Department of Government Efficiency and his recent executive order to dissolve the Department of Education and return power to the states resonate deeply with millions of people tired of rampant waste in Washington. As the states capitalize on this magic moment to defend the taxpayer, DOGE should also look to the states for proven solutions.
The states are ripe with examples of successful cost-cutting measures. One difference between states and Washington, D.C., is that all 50 states, except Vermont, are required by law to balance their budgets. Some of these balanced budget rules are clearly better than others, but this mandate forces states to practice fiscal discipline, unlike the federal government, where the national debt has reached $36.6 trillion, or over $323,000 per taxpayer.
