Elon Musk and DOGE Have the Masterplan for A Great American Reboot
While working on a previous blog a few weeks ago, my beloved laptop suddenly went dark.
My stomach sank.
Hours of work chronicling some of President Trump’s executive actions on his first day in office disappeared. Gone. I couldn’t believe it and wondered if I would remember the 2000 words I’d painstakingly researched and written.
You can relate, right? We’ve all had moments when our technology failed us. What are we always told? “Reboot your computer.” Or, if it’s your television or entertainment system, you might start by unplugging it and then plug it back in.
In some ways, our country has been on the blink for some time. During the previous administration, our sovereignty and border were breached, our rights to free speech, assembly, and religion were curbed (COVID), our military was scuttled, and our parental rights were suppressed. A quick scan of the hard drive showed that while our Constitution was still there, it was somehow no longer feeding the decisions and new policies coming from Washington, DC.
If there was ever a time to try unplugging or rebooting our government – this is that moment!.
President Trump has promised just that. He pledges to end the outrageous misuse of government effort and taxpayer money. He tapped technology billionaire, business genius, and friend Elon Musk (Tesla, Space X, X Corp) to tackle the most monumental bureaucracy overhaul ever attempted.
Before taking on the specific agencies for analysis and cuts, President Trump announced that any federal worker who wished to step down voluntarily would receive pay through November (about 8 months of continued wages and benefits). Roughly 75,000 cashed in on that generous offer.
Then, it was time to begin the largest and most transparent audit in US history.
DOGE – Our New Department of Government Efficiency
Musk assembled a crack team of computer engineers and financial whiz kids to examine the inner workings of each governmental organization, how much was being spent, by whom, and for what. The goal was to reveal to the American people where their tax dollars were going.
Remember when Musk purchased Twitter and renamed it “X”? One of his first decisions was to cut staff by 80%. It was a shocking move, and some said he would lose his shirt on the deal. Still, with a smaller, more targeted staff, profitability has increased dramatically over time. It turned out to be a fertile testing ground for his future work with DOGE.
Despite critics’ claims to the contrary, Musk isn’t the one chopping staff – he and his team are assessing and making recommendations to each agency’s cabinet members and leadership. They will decide how to implement some or all of the proposed cuts.
As they proceed, Musk promises that they will post all findings on DOGE.gov and X for all Americans to review. He also admitted that there would be some mistakes in the haste to maximize savings by rapidly cutting funds and employees, but he promised these would be revisited.
Reportedly, there are about 100 people on the DOGE team, and Musk revealed last week that they planned to increase that number to 200. A dedicated and determined group, they have moved into the sixth floor of a government building, equipping it with IKEA beds and furniture so the team can sleep at the office. It’s hardcore and unprecedented like the promised results to follow.
They are cutting the crazy – like a transgender opera we were paying for in Columbia, while also suggesting some simple, practical fixes, like having the Treasury Department add a code and reason for each expenditure every time money goes out. Musk claims that basic record-keeping could save billions.
First Stop, USAID
Speaking of crazy, hats off to USAID. Those letters stand for the US Agency for International Development – a delightfully vague name – which conveniently when shortened to its initials, sounds like an “AID” agency through which our benevolent nation can rescue those in crisis. The truth is not as noble as one might hope.
Here are a few of the things you and I were reportedly doling out our hard-earned taxes for:
- $1.5 million – to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in Serbia’s workplaces and business communities
- $70,000 – for a DEI musical in Ireland
- $2 million – to support LGBTQ activism and sex changes in Guatemala
- $32,000 – for the creation of a transgender comic book in Peru
- $45 million – for Diversity and Inclusion Scholarship Program in Burma
- $99 million – DEI Program
- $96 million – under the title, “Epic Ideas”
- $48 million – for “building climate resilience” in Honduras
- $23 million – for DEI education in Liberia
- $36 million – to lower emissions in Vietnam1
The total for USAID came to approximately $6.5 billion in cuts (of its roughly $40 billion in appropriations).
Oligarch Outrage
For some reason, all of this has caused the further unraveling of celebrities, Democrat politicians, and the left-leaning media. They have all crowed – almost in unison – about an “oligarchy” surrounding the Trump Administration. They are outraged in their view that a few wealthy billionaires have “taken over.”
It’s not true, of course, and it’s pretty rich coming from the party who handed enormous power to unelected Dr. Anthony Fauci, a multi-millionaire who wielded unprecedented authority during the pandemic.
What’s in it for Musk?
The harshest critics imply that this is a money play for Elon Musk. If that was his plan – he’s done a terrible job. He stands to lose financially for all his hard work and long hours – not gain. It was recently reported that because of the attacks on his companies, he has already lost over $103 billion in net worth as Tesla stock has declined 15%. Tesla dealerships have been violently attacked by domestic terrorists hoping to hurt the brand. Cars have been burned and windows broken to intimidate those who would work there – or dare to own a Tesla for themselves.
Elon Musk has gone from a darling of the green movement and the Democrat party – to a pariah.
During a recent interview with Larry Kudlow on Fox Nation, he stated that despite violent attacks against Tesla dealerships and myriad death threats, “I just don’t want to see America go bankrupt.” 2 Kudlow then asked how he’s managing to run his other businesses. Musk replied, “With great difficulty.”
He continued, “I’m just here trying to make government more efficient, eliminate waste and fraud, and so far, we’re making good progress, actually.”
An American Drama
“If this oligarch takeover isn’t stopped, America is over!” That’s the claim from those opposed to DOGE’s cost-saving strategies. Strangely, they seem unconcerned about the numerous atrocious discoveries of waste and fraud during the first few weeks of the audit.
Some critics are focused on the jobs lost. The human part of this equation is definitely worth noting. Our family experienced several months with my husband unemployed during 2020 – honestly, it was brutal.
Nobody wishes financial disaster on these former government workers. The truth is, however, that while faced with the daunting task of getting “out there” again and into the job market, they will be eligible for generous severance packages.
Taking the average annual salary for a federal employee ($106,462), these may receive roughly one week of pay for each year served (between 1 and 10 years); for a 10-year employee, that would be more than $20K. After the 10-year mark, those with longer tenures are eligible for 2 weeks of pay for 11 years and up. If that same government worker who takes home roughly $106K took President Trump’s offer on the front end, they would receive around $71K and all their benefits until November.
The tradeoff seems reasonable. The bloated bureaucracy in our nation has needed attention for decades. Corporate downsizing is not unheard of, and many American families have faced employment challenges many times without a generous severance package.
Other critics are vaguer in their predictions of doom. Their complaints change weekly based on what seems to be working. “Elon Musk wasn’t elected!” shouted some. “He’s an oligarch!” cries another. More decry America’s perceived turn from providing aid to those in need. They believe Trump is abandoning Ukraine and trying to take Gaza for himself. These are inch-deep accusations devoid of a clear look at the facts and are meant primarily to inflame emotions.
Then there was a gotcha moment when astute Facebookers pointed out that just because someone on the Social Security roll is 150 years old does not mean they are receiving a check. I suppose so, but don’t you think cleaning up those records and stopping any fraudulent payments is worth the effort?
They don’t get it.
They could, but the fact is – they don’t want to.
Musk and the DOGE team aim to save us at least a trillion dollars. If you’re wondering like I was, mamas, that’s a million millions!
For now, DOGE has saved America about $115 billion, which they say equals $714.29 per US taxpayer. Who can’t use an extra $700? For its champions and critics alike, it’s too soon to know whether this reboot will yield all it promises. It might just give America the new beginning she needs to take our place once again as the “shining city on a hill” that our beloved President Ronald Reagan often spoke of.
Podcast Note: We are thrilled to have two engaging change-makers who will be instrumental in helping Make America Great Again. At the recent CPAC convention, we caught up with Trump appointees Sebastian Gorka (Deputy Assistant to the President, Senior Director for Counterterrorism, National Security Council) and Kari Lake (Special Advisor to US Agency for Global Media/Voice of America). You won’t want to miss hearing this lively conversation!
1 doge.gov
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