Government Efficiency (7 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.

 

[DaveXA]

Federal workers still must fill out DOGE ‘five things’ email despite Musk exit

The White House and other government agencies defend the practice despite some employees questioning their utility

www.independent.co.uk

Thankfully they ended that nonsense at DOD.

 

[bird]

Thankfully they ended that nonsense at DOD.

That freaking guy…as stupid as a sack of doorknobs.

 

[LA 2 L.A.]

Of course, it was a game. They had no damn idea what they were doing. Eloon loved the attention. The DOGE punks felt important. That people were damaged was no concern of theirs. This was what you get when a bunch of childish, immature people get their hands on things that they shouldn’t be near.

Are you saying there's a reason we don't give 5 year olds flamethrowers or hand grenades for their birthday?

 

[bird]

Are you saying there's a reason we don't give 5 year olds flamethrowers or hand grenades for their birthday?

mmm, could be. I can’t do a good Bugs Bunny.

 

[Optimus Prime]

Some government agencies have come to a complete standstill because of cuts instituted by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), according to federal employees.

A dozen workers told Politico that Musk’sbudget slashing and spending freezes have hindered basic functions of government work.

Scientists aren’t able to publish their research and some Energy Department staffers can’t access their laboratories, the staffers told the outlet.

At the Federal Emergency Management Agency, disaster planning exercises are being cancelled, the anonymous sources said. Compounding the matter, recipients of Biden-era energy grants have been left in uncertainty as they wait for authorization to continue their work.

One FEMA officer told the outlet: “We are set up for failure.”

The Interior Department and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are also being impacted by the disruption, said the workers.

The Trump administration blamed the problems on “several activist district court judges” who they claim have “sought to seize control of the management of government agencies.”

“Delays and disruption caused by litigation are unfortunate, but they will not deter the president from delivering what the voters elected him to do — building a government that is leaner, more effective, and fully aligned with constitutional principles,” the White House told the outlet in a statement.……..

Federal employees say many government agencies at a standstill thanks to DOGE cuts

‘Without science, the agency can’t function. And that’s what we’re seeing right now,’ one source told Politico

www.independent.co.uk

 

[Optimus Prime]

One of the US so-called “department of government efficiency” (Doge) service’s best-known employees, 19-year-old Edward Coristine, has resigned from the US government, a White House official said on Tuesday, a month after the acrimonious departure of his former boss Elon Musk.

The White House official gave no further details on the move and Coristine did not immediately return an email seeking comment.

Coristine worked at Musk’s brain connectivity company Neuralink before joining the tech billionaire as he led Doge established by the Trump administration earlier this year.

Doge has overseen job cuts at almost every federal agency but is starting to see losses itself. Key Musk lieutenant Steve Davis, who was in charge of day-to-day running of Doge, has also left, along with others.

The White House has said that Doge’s mission will continue.

Coristine’s youth and online moniker “Big Balls” became a pop-culture meme as Doge swept through the US government, seizing data and firing employees en masse.…….

Doge employee ‘Big Balls’ has resigned, says White House official

One of Doge’s best-known workers Edward Coristine, 19, quits a month after his former boss Elon Musk’s departure

www.theguardian.com

 

[superchuck500]

 

[DaveXA]

Yep. I’ve worked as a federal employee for 5 years now, and while there’s definitely some inefficiencies in the system, we still get a lot of important work done. And the work, especially now with less personnel to support our mission, is not easy.

There’s really not much fraud and waste. People mad about that stuff typically have no idea what they’re talking about.

 

[bird]

Yep. I’ve worked as a federal employee for 5 years now, and while there’s definitely some inefficiencies in the system, we still get a lot of important work done. And the work, especially now with less personnel to support our mission, is not easy.

There’s really not much fraud and waste. People mad about that stuff typically have no idea what they’re talking about.

I would posit that large bureaucracies of any kind are, by nature, somewhat inefficient. Private sector bureaucracies put policies and procedures in place that are intended to minimize things like loss of money or damage to the firm’s reputation or perhaps to minimize accidents. These policies and procedures inevitably slow certain processes down but that is the trade-off they have decided to implement: slight inefficiency over loss of money.

The private sector is no more efficient than the public sector. The actual primary reason for this is that the private sector does not govern because it cannot govern. It also cannot do what government does because its purpose is not the same as the purpose of government.

 

[Huntn]

I would posit that large bureaucracies of any kind are, by nature, somewhat inefficient. Private sector bureaucracies put policies and procedures in place that are intended to minimize things like loss of money or damage to the firm’s reputation or perhaps to minimize accidents. These policies and procedures inevitably slow certain processes down but that is the trade-off they have decided to implement: slight inefficiency over loss of money.

The private sector is no more efficient than the public sector. The actual primary reason for this is that the private sector does not govern because it cannot govern. It also cannot do what government does because its purpose is not the same as the purpose of government.

The private sector as a rule is mostly preoccupied with profits, not social stability.

Government, if it’s anything like we created is to be is primarily concerned with the health of the whole, it represents all of the people, not the 1%. I’ll go farther, in an efficient government, there should be no 1% or even 10%, wealth caps are nor only reasonable, but a must. But as always, the huge rub, is that we must insist on a government, like it says in writing, by the people, for the people, and can not tolerate corruption.

The most alarming trend in the corpotacracy, is that these people are so intent on their profits and competition to seize the market place, they have become, (or have always been if the opportunity is there) destructive and cannabilistic, with their job exportation, the willingness to disenfranchise workers, and complete lack of care about the degradation to the domestic market they have orchestrated to suck wealth from the system into their private coffers. And the environment, it’s freaking expendable in the name of profits. Who needs an environment when there’s $$$ to be made? Short sighted in the extreme, and why we as a species maybe, likely are doomed to fail.

This is why it takes a government of individuals who have a balanced view, understand our collective health will ensure our success, or lack of, will doom us to failure. Right now

 

[LA 2 L.A.]

Yep. I’ve worked as a federal employee for 5 years now, and while there’s definitely some inefficiencies in the system, we still get a lot of important work done. And the work, especially now with less personnel to support our mission, is not easy.

There’s really not much fraud and waste. People mad about that stuff typically have no idea what they’re talking about.

I've had a lot more jobs than the average person my age has, so I've worked for a lot more private companies in a lot more different industries than most people have. I'm not bragging or embarrassed. My journey is what my journey is.

Every private company I've worked for had a lot of waste and inefficiency. My father was a road maintenance engineer for the LA highway dept. Back in the 1980's he warned the local parish not to shut down their road maintenance departments and start contracting the work out to the private sector, because it would cost them twice as much. My father was wrong, it ended up costing the parish 2.5 times as much for much poorer maintenance of the roads.

 

[zztop]

Fired, rehired and fired again, some NOAA employees get letters demanding money

Three former NOAA employees told NBC News they had received debt notices from the federal government for health care coverage.

www.nbcnews.com

 

[Optimus Prime]

The Tuesday Group was feeling something familiar as its members milled around a bank of elevators in the bustling basement of a Senate office building: rejection.

They had often been told no over the past months – when the government moved to fire them with Donald Trump’s blessing, when judges rejected challenges to that decision and when the lawmakers who they have taken to tracking down on Capitol Hill once a week when Congress is in session would turn a deaf ear to their pleas.

More than 59,000 federal workers have lost their jobs since Trump took office, according to government data, but those in power have not changed their tune.


This Tuesday morning, it was staffers of Maine’s Republican senator Susan Collins who had told them no, even after they staged an impromptu sit-in in her office for the better part of a half hour.

So they proceeded five floors down to the basement of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, hoping that some senator – any senator – would give them a moment of their time.

Then the elevator doors opened and who should come out but Collins. “Senator Collins!” someone in the group yelled.

Another tried to introduce themselves: “I’m a fired federal worker.” But the senator began waving her hands in front of her in an unmistakable sign of: I don’t have time for this.

“Thank you,” Collins said, as she made her way down the hall.

“It’s somewhat typical,” observed Whitt Masters, a former USAID contractor who has been unemployed since the end of March, when the company employing him decided to file for bankruptcy after its client began to shut down.

“You know, I don’t expect every senator to stop and speak with us. I wish she’d been a bit more approachable, especially since we had spent some time in her office earlier today.”

What’s been dubbed the Tuesday Group has come around the Capitol since mid-February, as Trump and Elon Musk’s campaign to thin out the federal workforce began to bite.

Some who show up have been fired, others are on paid leave while a judge considers whether it is legal to fire them, and those who work for USAID expect to officially lose their jobs next Tuesday, when the agency shuts down.

Democrats often welcome them, but when it comes to the Republicans who control Congress – and are weighing legislation to codify some cutsand make deeper ones in the next fiscal year – the reception has been uneven.

They’ve been ignored, blown off and belittled – all things they would experience last Tuesday, their 17th visit to the Hill…….

Fired federal workers lobby for help on Capitol Hill – is anyone listening?

Democrats have been receptive to the ‘Tuesday Group’ but the Republicans who control Congress are looking the other way

www.theguardian.com

 

[DaveXA]

The Tuesday Group was feeling something familiar as its members milled around a bank of elevators in the bustling basement of a Senate office building: rejection.

They had often been told no over the past months – when the government moved to fire them with Donald Trump’s blessing, when judges rejected challenges to that decision and when the lawmakers who they have taken to tracking down on Capitol Hill once a week when Congress is in session would turn a deaf ear to their pleas.

More than 59,000 federal workers have lost their jobs since Trump took office, according to government data, but those in power have not changed their tune.


This Tuesday morning, it was staffers of Maine’s Republican senator Susan Collins who had told them no, even after they staged an impromptu sit-in in her office for the better part of a half hour.

So they proceeded five floors down to the basement of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, hoping that some senator – any senator – would give them a moment of their time.

Then the elevator doors opened and who should come out but Collins. “Senator Collins!” someone in the group yelled.

Another tried to introduce themselves: “I’m a fired federal worker.” But the senator began waving her hands in front of her in an unmistakable sign of: I don’t have time for this.

“Thank you,” Collins said, as she made her way down the hall.

“It’s somewhat typical,” observed Whitt Masters, a former USAID contractor who has been unemployed since the end of March, when the company employing him decided to file for bankruptcy after its client began to shut down.

“You know, I don’t expect every senator to stop and speak with us. I wish she’d been a bit more approachable, especially since we had spent some time in her office earlier today.”

What’s been dubbed the Tuesday Group has come around the Capitol since mid-February, as Trump and Elon Musk’s campaign to thin out the federal workforce began to bite.

Some who show up have been fired, others are on paid leave while a judge considers whether it is legal to fire them, and those who work for USAID expect to officially lose their jobs next Tuesday, when the agency shuts down.

Democrats often welcome them, but when it comes to the Republicans who control Congress – and are weighing legislation to codify some cutsand make deeper ones in the next fiscal year – the reception has been uneven.

They’ve been ignored, blown off and belittled – all things they would experience last Tuesday, their 17th visit to the Hill…….

Fired federal workers lobby for help on Capitol Hill – is anyone listening?

Democrats have been receptive to the ‘Tuesday Group’ but the Republicans who control Congress are looking the other way

www.theguardian.com

Collins has proven she’s ultimately a Trump lackey. No different than the rest. No guts or integrity. She can rot for all I care.

 

[zztop]

Collins has proven she’s ultimately a Trump lackey. No different than the rest. No guts or integrity. She can rot for all I care.

All those republicans are spineless. She should have lost reelection after the supreme court shirt. But I guess people love to vote for people who don't have their best interests in mind

 

[longtime lurker]

My wife and I are on pins and needles. She works for NARA and they had some layoffs a few weeks ago and more of the cuts hit tomorrow, Monday the 30th. She has worked outstandingly for 21 years at NARA and loves her career. She has never let politics dictate how she should do her job….now we find out if she will be laid off tomorrow. This is another total waste brought to all of us by Elon, DOGE, and Trump.

Update - There were layoffs today but her area was spared as of Monday afternoon. A lot of confusion, as it seems to be the case with DOGE at most agencies and if all the RIF notices would go out today, be staggered, etc. As of this moment, she is safe. My heart goes out to those who were let go today.

 

[Optimus Prime]

Elon Musk's DOGE had access to sensitive federal data that could significantly benefit his sprawling business empire even after he quits government, a new report claims.

An investigation by The Washington Post found DOGE staffers had access to potentially advantageous records from at least seven government agencies or departments ranging from documents on rivals' trade secrets to investigation files on Musk's own companies.

There was no evidence Musk has actually used any of this information to help his companies or viewed it himself. Nor is there evidence that DOGE staffers made any copies of the data they accessed.

But at least one firm that competes with Musk's rocket company SpaceX, told the Post its executives had held meetings to discuss what to do about DOGE's access to federal contracting data that could make the company "vulnerable".

"Getting your hands on a nonpublic spreadsheet that details every aspect of the agency’s contracts creates a tremendous advantage... [which] will endure for many years," said former Pentagon contracting officer Christoph Mlinarchik.…….

DOGE got sweeping access to federal data. It could help Musk’s companies for decades

Sensitive data held by NASA, the Department of Labor, and other federal bodies could advantage Elon Musk’s business empire for ‘many years’, according to a new investigation

www.independent.co.uk

 

[LA 2 L.A.]

Elon Musk's DOGE had access to sensitive federal data that could significantly benefit his sprawling business empire even after he quits government, a new report claims.

An investigation by The Washington Post found DOGE staffers had access to potentially advantageous records from at least seven government agencies or departments ranging from documents on rivals' trade secrets to investigation files on Musk's own companies.

There was no evidence Musk has actually used any of this information to help his companies or viewed it himself. Nor is there evidence that DOGE staffers made any copies of the data they accessed.

But at least one firm that competes with Musk's rocket company SpaceX, told the Post its executives had held meetings to discuss what to do about DOGE's access to federal contracting data that could make the company "vulnerable".

"Getting your hands on a nonpublic spreadsheet that details every aspect of the agency’s contracts creates a tremendous advantage... [which] will endure for many years," said former Pentagon contracting officer Christoph Mlinarchik.…….

DOGE got sweeping access to federal data. It could help Musk’s companies for decades

Sensitive data held by NASA, the Department of Labor, and other federal bodies could advantage Elon Musk’s business empire for ‘many years’, according to a new investigation

www.independent.co.uk

So predictable and cliched it 100% deserves this, next you're going to tell me water is wet.