Executive Order 13829: US Postal System

What the Executive Order says

Executive Order (EO) 13829 is entitled "Taskforce on the United States Postal system" and has 7 sections.  It was issued in April 2018.

Section 1

This section sketches out that the US Postal System (USPS) is currently operating under a financing model that is structurally unsustainable and cites certain facts in support of that position.

Section 2

This section defines who will be on the Task Force and that it will be led by the Secretary of the Treasury.

Section 3

This section directs the Task Force to seriously reconsider the traditionally understood mandate of the USPS and how present trends extrapolate into the future such as additional package volume due to e-commerce and similarly, the reduced letter volume due to electronic communications technologies.

Section 4

This section discusses what is to be considered when the Task Force comes up with recommendations.  The recommendations should not increase taxes and needs to consider EO 13781 (which I discuss here) as well as the views of the USPS workforce and customers.

Section 5

This section mandates that a report be generated within 120 days to summarize the findings and recommendations of the Task Force.

Section 6

This section indicates from where the funds to run the task for will come, which is the Federal Financing Bank.

Section 7

This section, labeled "general provisions" includes specific text to ensure that the EO does not exceed the constitutional limits on executive power.

My commentary

So the lapse of time actually very much worked in the favor of being able to capture a more comprehensive consideration of what is going on with this EO.  And there are considerable tides pushing this issue around.  First is that everyone agrees that USPS needs to exist and it needs to provide mail services to everyone.  However, in providing that service, many argue exactly who should be footing the bill or why a post office should exist in every hamlet with a 1,000 people who live thereabouts.  In that respect, this EO certainly is continuing that argument, especially when it asks that "universal service" needs to be redefined.
Second, I do think that it is fair to re-consider the mission of USPS because of the large scale technological changes that have happened over the past 20 years.  But to draw the conclusion that because of these changes, USPS is a relic that is long past its expiration date is wrong.  There is a role to play and USPS could enhance the services that it provides to mail customers through technology and there needs to be an incubator so that new services could be developed.  These services may well compete in the market against services being provided by publicly traded or privately held for-profit corporations.  For some this should not be allowed by their fundamental philosophy.  But my opinion is that if you are wanting to not fund the USPS through tax based subsidies to be able to succeed in the mission to provide universal service, then you have to let it compete in the market.
Given the predispositions of the current administration, it is entirely probable that the report will favor eliminating as much of USPS as possible.  The final report, issued in December 2018 is here.  It is 74 pages long.  There was also an interim report in August of 2018.
The recommendations in the report notably include a lot "keep things the same, but make money instead of losing it".  It is not a great report, but on the other hand, it doesn't significantly push for privatization either.

Executive Order 13828: Reducing Poverty

What the Executive Order says

Executive Order (EO) 13828 is entitled "Reducing Poverty in America by Promoting Opportunity and Economic Mobility" and has 5 sections.  It was issued in April of 2018.

Section 1

This section proposes the argument that many who are on public or government assistance of various kinds have been trapped there and are suffering because the government is giving them assistance to meet basic needs.

Section 2

This section starts by saying that the measure of success of assistance programs is to see how many people are able to find work such that they no longer need or qualify for the aid given by the program.  Fundamentally, the text presupposes and indirectly references that there are some large number of "free riders" that are taking advantage of the government aid who, as a result, are not working because the income/benefits received allow them to have a luxurious and idle life.  Also, "government waste" is also referenced.

Section 3

This section mandates that certain agencies make a review of federal laws and regulations to determine first if additional work requirements can be applied regarding the benefits being provided.  Second, to ensure that programs are not, as much as possible, providing benefits or assistance to illegal aliens.  And there are reports that have to be written and provided to the Director of the OMB.  Note that the President doesn't seem to want to get the reports himself any more.

Section 4

This Section includes definitions for the terms "individuals", "families", "persons", "work", "workforce", "welfare", and "public assistance".

Section 5

This section includes the necessary legal fine print to assure the constitutionality of the EO.

My Commentary

So it has been said many times that the Red rural counties, which are often the poorest parts of the US, is where the current President got a large part of the vote necessary to win the presidency.  So many liberal pundits have seized on the fact that so many executive branch policies and initiatives, not to mention legislation passed by the Republican controlled Congress have usually had depressive effects on the Red rural counties.  Here it seems that the President is finally trying to help the people who elected him by finally getting them off of government assistance so that only those that are worthy will survive by being able to find a way to earn money and those that are not will die of starvation or disease homeless in the streets.
I do agree that there is a need to measure outcomes of programs.  But in doing so, we also have to keep in mind that externalities such as the state of the economy, the prevailing wages and local cost of living do have a significant impact on whether people are able to rise back up so that they no longer need or qualify for the assistance program.  This is especially true of "re-training" programs.

Executive Order 13827: Venezuela

What the Executive Order says

Executive Order (EO) 13827 is entitled "Taking Additional Steps to address the Situation in Venezuela" and it has 7 sections.  It was issued in March 2018.

Section 1

This section prohibits US persons from being involved in transactions or funding of digital currencies by, for or on behalf of the Government of Venezuela.

Section 2

This section prohibits transactions that are structured to try and avoid or circumscribe the rule in section 1.

Section 3

This section provides definitions for the terms "person", "entity", "United States person", and "Government of Venezuela".

Section 4

This section instructs the Secretary of the Treasury to take necessary actions to implement this EO.

Section 5

This section describes the justification why no advance notice on the prohibition is warranted and references EO 13692 which called for blocking the property of certain individuals in Venezuela and was issued under the previous administration in March of 2015.

Section 6

This section is a standard clause to ensure the constitutionality of the EO.

Section 7

This section defines when the EO becomes effective.

My Commentary

The sanctions herein are not really significant by themselves.  But I believe that it was an additional necessary step and a sign of technological change in the world's financial structures.  As time has passed, we have seen that the situation in Venezuela has worsen nearly every single week and that the average Venezuelan is suffering from fighting for power that is going on.

Executive Order 13826: Crime Prevention

What the Executive Order Says

Executive Order (EO) 13826 is entitled "Federal Interagency Council on Crime Prevention and Improving Reentry" and has 7 sections.  It was published in March 2018.

Section 1

This section states that the aim of the policy is to reduce crime and also re-integrate rehabilitated convicts into the community as productive citizens.

Section 2

This section states that the policy is to prevent people from becoming criminals and to lower recidivism rates.  Then it vaguely says that the Federal government has a role to play and that agencies need to coordinate activities to enhance efficiency.

Section 3

This section defines the members of the Federal Interagency Council on Crime Prevention and Improving Reentry.  It tasks the Council with specific actions such as meeting once per quarter.

Section 4

This section mandates that an initial report as well as a final report and status updates on implementation of the accepted recommendations all are written.  There are a number of factors that are to be considered.

Section 5

This section revokes a Presidential Memo dated April 29, 2016.

Section 6

This section states that the Council will be terminated 3 years from the date of the EO.

Section 7

This section includes general provisions which limit the interpretation of the EO to ensure its constitutionality.

My Commentary

So this task force replaces one that the previous administration had set up in April of 2016.  Here is some information regarding that.  There are a few announcements, such as the appointment of the Executive Director, but I cannot find anywhere that a report was issued nor even a website, although it is not clear if the predecessor organization (FIRC) that was the subject of the April, 2016 memo, website was taken over by the organization mentioned in this EO.  It doesn't appear to be.  So overall, it appears that nothing has happened here.