Downsize the Department of Labor

The Department of Labor’s budget is dominated by the costly unemployment insurance system. It also runs numerous employment and job training programs, which are generally ineffective and duplicative of services available in the private sector. And the department oversees an array of labor union laws and workplace regulations that restrict freedom and are costly to workers and businesses. The department spent about $95 billion 2013, or $800 for every U.S. household. It employs 17,000 workers.