As baseball season heats up across the country, DC is abuzz with scandals. We have a Justice Department spying on reporters, allegations of a cover up in Benghazi, and an IRS targeting conservative groups.

The federal government spying on its citizens — unfortunately, in a post-9/11 world and with broad powers given to federal law enforcement agencies, it should be expected. Benghazi was a tragedy; innocent public servants were killed, and several federal agencies fought over “talking points.” And a rogue IRS field office targeted certain groups applying for tax exempt status.

Should we be surprised by these indignities? I’m not. When you have huge bureaucracies, there are bound to be people not performing adequately (or in many cases performing willfully improperly). I don’t blame Attorney General Eric Holder, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton or recently axed Acting IRS Commissioner Steven Miller. No mere mortal could know everything going on at his or her department or agency.

If we are going to blame anyone, we should fault ourselves. We have learned to rely on the federal government to our own detriment. Cut programs, but not ones on which I rely. Raise taxes, but not on me. And you should absolutely not, under any circumstances, take my social security.

By no means am I anti-government. I truly believe the federal government has a role in our society. Unfortunately, it’s gotten so out of control that no one can trust government anymore.

We all need to make sacrifices and demand government get back to its basics. That doesn’t just mean cutting and taxing—it means performing competently and transparently. As any slugger will tell you, the best way to get out of a slump is to focus on the fundamentals of the swing and to simplify. Just put the ball in play and good things will happen. For government to ascend from its descent, we need to get back to tackling the essentials and doing it well. Right now, it’s swinging and missing.