Government Efficiency (2 Viewers)

[RobF]

I think this topic deserves its own thread, both to discuss generally the topic of government efficiency, and specifically the so-called 'Department of Government Efficiency' and the incoming Trump administration's aims to "dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures and restructure Federal Agencies".

The announcements have been covered in the The Trump Cabinet and key post thread, but to recap, Trump has announced that Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will work together on a not-actually-an-official-government-Department of Government Efficiency, which is intended to work with the White House and Office of Management & Budget to "drive large scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before," with the 'Department' to conclude its work "no later than July 4, 2026."

Musk has previously said that the federal budget could be reduced by "at least $2 trillion", and Ramaswarmy, during his presidential campaign, said he would fire more than 75% of the federal work force and disband agencies including the Department of Education and the FBI.

 

[superchuck500]

OPM doesn’t supervise the federal workforce. They manage federal HR - they’re not supervisors. I don’t see how they can even ask for this.

I suspect there’s quite a bit of WTF going on at the agencies.

Even within agencies there is conflicting response - this is just chaos.

Why does Elon Musk have the ability to just on a whim demand everyone in the government do something? He's a special government employee, part-time at the White House. This is just so stupid.

 

[RobF]

I'm fairly certain Musk did the same thing at Twitter.

Thing is, he did (unfortunately) buy Twitter. He did not buy the US government.

But this behaviour rather suggests that he thinks he did.

 

[Optimus Prime]

I'm fairly certain Musk did the same thing at Twitter.

Thing is, he did (unfortunately) buy Twitter. He did not buy the US government.

But this behaviour rather suggests that he thinks he did.

That 300 million wasn’t for nothing

 

[Booker]

That 300 million wasn’t for nothing

Actually quite a bargain compared to what he paid for twitter.

 

[MT15]

He bought the presidency didn’t he? Trump is golfing - he’s not paying any attention to what Musk does.

Oh and another example of the waste and abuse of power by Musk.

 

[DaveXA]

Thanks for posting these. What the administration is doing through OPM is just so far out there, it's wild. Even long time Trump supporters who work in government are scratching their heads.

 

[Mr. Blue Sky]

 

[bird]

Wasn’t sure where to put this comment.

So, it appears Christian nationalist Mike Johnson is spouting the “waste, fraud and abuse” meme regarding Medicaid.

Waste, fraud and abuse occurs whenever the private sector interfaces with government. The purpose of the private sector is profit, period. Thus they will do whatever they can get away with to maximize profit. That means waste, fraud and abuse.

 

[Lapaz]

Wasn’t sure where to put this comment.

So, it appears Christian nationalist Mike Johnson is spouting the “waste, fraud and abuse” meme regarding Medicaid.

Waste, fraud and abuse occurs whenever the private sector interfaces with government. The purpose of the private sector is profit, period. Thus they will do whatever they can get away with to maximize profit. That means waste, fraud and abuse.

That’s a good point. Capitalism may be the biggest problem. There is probably less fraud and some types of abuse in communist countries. Waste probably occurs in all systems for different motivations. It would be a twist to highlight that private industry is the biggest culprit in Capitalism for fraud and abuse, because that would make the case for bigger government roles in everything.

 

[bird]

That’s a good point. Capitalism may be the biggest problem. There is probably less fraud and some types of abuse in communist countries. Waste probably occurs in all systems for different motivations. It would be a twist to highlight that private industry is the biggest culprit in Capitalism for fraud and abuse, because that would make the case for bigger government roles in everything.

Government having bigger roles in everything…don’t know about that.

Since, in the case of Medicaid, government monies are used but private insurance is the provider and private sector fingerprints appear everywhere the WF&A meme applies very specifically to the private sector. We see the same in government contracts with the private sector elsewhere.

I am not naive enough to believe that the so-called “Golden Age of Capitalism” which was the post-war era occurred in a vacuum. The U.S. economy stood astride a ruined world. That being said regulations made the age much more balanced in terms of the benefits flowing fairly evenly. Of course, women and other minorities shared less and in some cases not at all but the concept is still the same. The presence of government modifies the behavior of wealth/capital.

Do we need the government growing crops or building housing? No. Do we need government to make sure crops aren’t poisoning people or that homes are built safely? Absolutely.

The private sector is ALWAYS the biggest source of waste, fraud and abuse. The idea that the private sector does anything better than the public sector is a myth. Waste as opposed to the other two does occur in government but it is not a characteristic of government. Imo, it is a characteristic in the private sector particularly the larger the entity and the higher the potential reward.

 

[MT15]

They won’t target the corporations doing much of the fraud and abuse. They will cut benefits to poor people. That’s immoral and people who support this are supporting immoral behavior.

 

[efil4]

 

[superchuck500]

This guy is a forking psychopath. Agencies have instructed their staff not to respond. OPM doesn't have chain of command to order agency staff to do substantive work. Musk doesn't have any authority over any of this - and tweets are not government policy.

Undeterred by any of "that's not how it works", Elon is threatening.

 

[superchuck500]

 

[coldseat]

This guy is a forking psychopath. Agencies have instructed their staff not to respond. OPM doesn't have chain of command to order agency staff to do substantive work. Musk doesn't have any authority over any of this - and tweets are not government policy.

Undeterred by any of "that's not how it works", Elon is threatening.

Let's find out. Hopefully nobody will respond. Musk isn't even an employee of OPM or its leader, why is he sending out threat tweets on their behalf. I'm sure Russell Vought knows how to tweet, if this is serious. Musk should be charged with impersonating a government official.

 

[superchuck500]

Let's find out. Hopefully nobody will respond. Musk isn't even an employee of OPM or its leader, why is he sending out threat tweets on their behalf. I'm sure Russell Vought knows how to tweet, if this is serious. Musk should be charged with impersonating a government official.

There's that - there's also the issue that tweeting is not a valid way to communicate to the federal workforce.

I like the nickname Voldemusk for Elon. Maybe it will stick.

 

[Incumbent]

While addressing the press with Prime Minister Macron, in response to a question about the latest email Musk sent federal workers, Trump said they've uncovered "hundreds of billions of dollars of fraud so far, and we've just started."

An absurd claim that he can't possibly back up.

 

[efil4]

While addressing the press with Prime Minister Macron, in response to a question about the latest email Musk sent federal workers, Trump said they've uncovered "hundreds of billions of dollars of fraud so far, and we've just started."

An absurd claim that he can't possibly back up.

since no one presses him on clear answers, he continues to spew garbage replies that get amplified among his supporters.

rinse, repeat.