Rick Perry's excruciating brain freeze as he tried to remember which government department he wants to eliminate was clearly the YouTube moment of the latest GOP debate.
But lost in the hilarity was the question of what Perry's plan would actually mean.
Perry said he wants to scrap the federal Departments of Commerce, Education, and Energy (even though that last one eluded him for a while).
So it's worth asking: What do those departments do?
The Department of Commerce contains the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, which runs our system of intellectual property.
Without it, America would have no way to ensure that inventors could fully profit from their inventions, giving them little incentive to spend the time and money needed for breakthroughs.
The pace of American innovation would likely take a huge hit.
Commerce also includes the Census Bureau.
The accurate count of Americans that the department provides each decade lets leaders and policymakers know how to allocate resources--housing, roads, utilities--around the country.
Commerce also encompasses the National Weather Service (NWS), which issues crucial warnings about severe weather like hurricanes and floods.
When state and local officials make decisions about how and when to evacuate, they're generally going off NWS information.
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout...ee-government-departments-mean-212919120.html