The thing about the budget is that it's all dollars and cents. We like to think of deficit reduction as a project undertaken in hundred billion dollar chunks, but that's not really the way it works. Think of your own budget: Do you often find hundreds of dollars you can cut? (If so, can I have it?) Usually, you find the small things -- the famous $5 latte example, for instance -- and add up the dollars over time. Critics will find a way to call similar efforts on the governmental scale "unserious" but often these are the folks that Daniel Gross warns are haunted by the fear that someone, somewhere may be getting help from the government. In an effort to take advantage of the small savings, the Office of Management and Budget had federal employees submit different ideas they had to stop waste and save money, which filtered up to the top and can be voted on by the public. The winner gets the SAVE award and a meeting with the president. (Unclear to me why SAVE is capitalized, as it doesn't seem to be an acronym, but it gets you in the saving spirit).This is a good idea for a couple reasons. One, the ideas (all four of which, regardless of voting, will be probably be in next year's budget proposal) are all pretty smart. Two, it gives recognition to the hardworking people who actually implement government policy and probably have the best knowledge of how to improve delivery; these people should be respected and used as a resource rather than ridiculed as faceless bureaucrats. Three, it helps citizens who vote on the ideas take some ownership of and participation in government, something that should always be encouraged.My favorite idea is probably Nancy Fichtner's, which calls for VA Hospitals to stop throwing out medication used in hospitals after a patient is discharged and instead give it to the patients to take home, mainly because it highlights waste issues that health-care reform ought to be addressing. But the other three top ideas all highlight bureaucratic inefficiency that folks from both parties should be happy to prevent with common sense and new technology. Go vote yourself.-- Tim Fernholz
