Government Efficiency (3 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.

 

[Dragon]

If they could send the rest of Doge on their merry way, that would be great. Unfortunately, what Musk started in the form of Doge is only the tip of the iceberg. Musk was the face. With him out, they'll quietly go back to wrecking government agencies like they have been doing. It's window dressing.

The danger is far from over. What became of the confidential and private data that DOGE unlawfully removed? Has their unauthorized backdoor access to sensitive systems been fully identified and disabled? There are serious questions about whether laws were broken—ranging from data protection violations to potential breaches of national security.

Reports suggest DOGE—or its agents—improperly accessed, and possible collected, or transferred:

• Personally Identifiable Information (PII) such as:
  • Social Security Numbers (SSNs)
  • Medical records
  • IRS and tax-related filings
• Confidential government contractor data including:
  • Procurement plans
  • Contract bids
  • Research and development files
  • Investigative records involving government oversight of Musk’s companies (e.g., SpaceX, Tesla, Neuralink)

These data may have been transferred to unauthorized external devices, drives, or off-site servers—with no government audit trail or formal access logs.

The much-touted "efficiency" may have been nothing more than a smokescreen for widespread abuse of information and systemic misconduct. A full investigation is not just warranted—it’s imperative

 

[RobF]

Most of us knew the pretense for doge was a lie. Cutting the budget was an even bigger lie. Yeah, Americans are stupid. Too stupid as they keep falling for these bs.



FYI, the cuts made by doge has cost the government over $100 billion in additional operational expense.

DOGE’s mass federal workforce cuts may cost taxpayers $135 billion this fiscal year alone

Elon Musk’s efforts to slash federal spending are costing the government in lost productivity and tax revenue, workforce and policy experts claim.

fortune.com

It was never about inefficiencies.

Said it on the first page of this thread:

Too often the savings turn out to be imaginary.

In fairness, while I was anticipating this kind of disaster, I wasn't expecting it to get to the point of them being quite this imaginary.

 

[UriUT]

Said it on the first page of this thread:



In fairness, while I was anticipating this kind of disaster, I wasn't expecting it to get to the point of them being quite this imaginary.

What's even crazier is that the cost could be much bigger in lost revenue than that article estimated. There were reports that biden's expansion of irs personnel would add $800 billion in added revenue. They would collect that much by simply applying existing tax codes on the mega rich evaders.

It's safe to say, Americans are delusional to believe America is the greatest....and most of the reasons is because of maga.

 

[DaveXA]

They're MATA...make America terrible again.

 

[Optimus Prime]

The Trump administration is reportedly eyeing dozens of grants across the National Park Service for termination, according to reporting from the New York Times, one of several moves destabilizing the US’s investment in public lands.

According to the newspaper, staff members at Elon Musk’s unofficial “department of government efficiency” have created a spreadsheet of federal grants earmarked for cuts, with total funding cuts amounting to some $26m.

The proposed eliminations follow a familiar pattern for the Trump administration, with reasons given for program cuts including “climate change/sustainability”, “DEI” and “LGBQ”.

Programs listed for potential elimination include “Scientists in Parks”, which places undergraduate and graduate students as well as early-career scientists across the country in natural resource management-focused positions.

The focus on DEI, LGBTQ+ issues and climate change matches cuts “Doge” has made across the federal government, and specifically at the Department of the Interior, which houses the National Park Service.

The interior department and the NPS were heavily hit by Doge’s early rounds of layoffs, along with the US Forestry Service, which manages nearly 200m acres (81m hectares) of public land.

Since then, the administration has continued to slash at the NPS’s workings. Earlier this spring, the department closed the National Park Service Academy, which was a partnership designed to bring Americans from underrepresented backgrounds into the park service and make a more diverse set of Americans feel comfortable working in and exploring the outdoors.…….

Trump reportedly eyes $26m in funding cuts for US national parks

New York Times reports Elon Musk’s Doge agency has created spreadsheet of federal grants earmarked for cuts

www.theguardian.com

 

[Optimus Prime]

Food rations for a million people in Uganda have been cut off completely this week amid a funding crisis at the United Nations World Food Programme, raising fears that refugees will now be pushed back into countries at war.

The WFP in Uganda warned two weeks ago that $50m (£37m) was urgently needed to help refugees and asylum seekers fleeing conflicts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan and Sudan.

Uganda hosts Africa’s largest refugee population of 1.8 million, with 60,000 new arrivals in the last three months. Malnutrition rates had reached a crisis point, said the UN agency.


“Due to severe funding shortages, @WFP_Uganda has cut 1 million refugees entirely off from food assistance,” the agency announced via social media.

“Malnutrition has reached critical levels (15% +) in refugee reception centres, and general food rations have been cut by up to 80%,” it said.

In March, the WFP slashed food relief, introducing rationing for new arrivals to the east African country.

Hillary Onek, Uganda’s minister for refugees, said it was a direct result of the radical aid cuts by the US and European countries.

Donald Trump’s freeze on US aid spending in January and the UK’s cut in aid spendingthe following month from 0.58% of gross national income to 0.3% have badly hit Uganda’s ability to look after refugees.

“The problem is beyond and outside our control. The global funding to support refugees has dwindled. The money given to the World Food Programme to buy food was cut off. The refugees are going to suffer the consequences,” Onek said.

“Aid can’t be depended on any more. Trump came and radically cut off funds to support refugee programmes. Other countries who have been contributing, most of them are not honouring their small contributions. WFP and UNHCR are in a total crisis because of lack of funding,” he said……..

Trump’s aid cuts blamed as food rations stopped for a million refugees in Uganda

UN World Food Programme says $50m is urgently needed amid fears that Uganda may now begin forced repatriations

www.theguardian.com

 

[zztop]

DOGE Aide Who Helped Gut CFPB Was Warned About Potential Conflicts of Interest

Before he helped fire most Consumer Financial Protection Bureau staffers, DOGE’s Gavin Kliger was warned about his investments and advised to not take any actions that could benefit him personally, according to a person familiar with the situation.

www.propublica.org

 

[Optimus Prime]

Fantastic

So when people were being let go by the thousands that was the labor intensive version??
==================


Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency is poised to roll out special software to speed up sweeping federal layoffs, as thebillionaire prepares to step back from the agency.

The software, known as AutoRIF, is an updated version of a decades-old Pentagon program – though it has been used very little in recent years. The name AutoRIF comes from "Reduction in Force," a term used to describe mass layoffs, according to the U.S. Office Of Personnel Management.

Multiple sources confirmed to Reuters that under direction from Musk and DOGE officials, software developers from the OPM have now created a more user-friendly web-based version over the past few months.

The new version provides targets for layoffs much more quickly than the current manual process, which is labor-intensive, the sources said.

OPM will lead demonstrations and user testing will begin in the coming weeks, one of the sources told Reuters. Wired previously reported on the revamp of the software.

The update has not been publicly confirmed by DOGE.

Currently, most federal RIFs are done manually, with human resource employees having to work on spreadsheets containing data on employee seniority, veteran status and performance, sources told Reuters.

DOGE is reportedly planning to roll out AutoRIF in line with huge cuts at federal agencies including the Department of Veterans Affairs, which is set to eliminate some 80,000 jobs. The Internal Revenue Service has said it wants to slash its payrolls by 40 percent, according to media reports.…….

DOGE plans to roll out new software to speed up job cuts even as Elon Musk steps back

The software, known as AutoRIF, is an updated version of a decades-old Pentagon program – though it has been used very little in recent years

www.independent.co.uk

 

[superchuck500]

It's just so, so damned stupid.

 

[efil4]

It's just so, so damned stupid.

Create the problem, fix the problem created, claim victory.

rinse-repeat.

 

[DaveXA]

Create the problem, fix the problem created, claim victory.

rinse-repeat.

Absolutely this. And the lemmings lap that sheet up. They have absolutely no clue. Forking brainwashed idiots.

 

[UriUT]

Americans are just so, so damned stupid.

Fify

Because I'm staring down the start of this thread and the consequences of all this mess have been broadcast as loudly and clearly as can be. We already know he's a god damn idiot. But some how the media and Americans give him all the chances to fall up.

 

[coldseat]

Create the problem, fix the problem created, claim victory.

rinse-repeat.

They're not going to fix the problem. They will eventually use it as an excuse for not being able to fix the problem and claim operations need to be privatized (at a much higher cost).

That's their game. And the problem still won't be fixed.

 

[UriUT]

Isn't it Time to Stop Calling it “The National Debt”? - Evonomics

How about government-Issued assets instead?

evonomics.com

Even mark cuban gets it wrong.



Understanding “national debt” From 2016 numbers:

Fourteen. Trillion. Dollars. That’s how much the U.S. government “owes” to others (to private U.S. entities, to the Fed, and to non-U.S. entities). You hear that massive number all the time, right? And people are forever telling you that you and your family are on the hook to pay off that scary huge number. There are 125 million U.S. households. You do the arithmetic. The horror.

What those scare-mongers don’t tell you, and generally don’t even understand: it actually makes almost no sense to call that figure “the national debt.” And no, you’re not on the hook to pay it back.

Imagine you’re the queen or king of a sovereign country. You decide to mint and issue a bunch of tin coins that your people will find useful. You use those coins to buy stuff from people in the private sector, and pay them to do work. Voilà, the people have money.

Is your government now in “debt” as a result of that “deficit spending”? Do you have to “pay” something to somebody at some point in the future? Do you have to redeem those coins for wheat or pigs or anything else? Obviously not. There’s just a bunch of money out there that people can use. You’ve made no promise that your treasury will ever redeem those coins for anything. They just circulate.

If somebody goes to the Treasury and asks to redeem a dollar bill, what does Treasury have to give them in return? A different dollar bill?

That’s essentially the situation with the U.S. national “debt.” The U.S. issues money by deficit spending. It puts more money into private accounts than it takes out via taxes. The private sector has more balance-sheet assets (but no more liabilities, so it has more “net worth,” the balancing item on the righthand side of its balance sheet). The treasury has made no promises to redeem that new money for…anything (except maybe…different government-issued assets). It’s just out there.

It’s common parlance to say that the private sector is “holding government debt.” That’s understandable as shorthand; the private sector is holding T bonds, which are “debt instruments,” held as assets. But it’s a misnomer, and a pernicious, confusing one. The private sector is (obviously) holding assets on its balance sheet, not liabilities. The “debt,” such as it is, only exists as a (notional) offsetting accounting liability on the righthand side of the government balance sheet.

(“Holding debt” really makes no sense at all. How can you own something you owe? Debt can’t be an asset that you “hold.” It’s a liability. Likewise, “spending liabilities.” Will the car dealer accept your liabilities in payment for a car? It’s a shorthand that, if not unpacked and understood, creates widespread confusion and misunderstanding.)

Which is why you, as queen or king, issued those tin coins in the first place. The economy needs them to operate smoothly. Sure, you got some one-time free labor out of the deal — “seignorage” and all that. But did you benefit? Maybe you used the labor to build roads. Both the roads and the coins are public goods. You just end up, still, as queen or king — of a more prosperous country. That one-time transaction happens — you issue coins and pay people to build roads or whatever (you “deficit spend”). But those coins (or bonds, or whatever) remain out there forever, for generations, doing the good work that needs doing in the economy. Money makes the world go round.

 

[zztop]

NOAA ending its "billion-dollar disasters" database

NOAA announced that it is decommissioning several databases, including its widely reported annual compilation of billion-dollar weather and climate disasters.

www.cbsnews.com

According to a current NOAA employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of losing their job, part of the reason the billion-dollar database is being decommissioned is because it is "not core" to NOAA's mission, since its focus is on economics and an analysis of various datasets. Additionally, the lead researcher of the database resigned last month by taking a separation incentive package.

More than 2,200 NOAA employees have been let go under the Trump administration, and the White House budget proposal would cut NOAA's funding by 30%.

 

[Dragon]

NOAA ending its "billion-dollar disasters" database

NOAA announced that it is decommissioning several databases, including its widely reported annual compilation of billion-dollar weather and climate disasters.

www.cbsnews.com

According to a current NOAA employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of losing their job, part of the reason the billion-dollar database is being decommissioned is because it is "not core" to NOAA's mission, since its focus is on economics and an analysis of various datasets. Additionally, the lead researcher of the database resigned last month by taking a separation incentive package.

More than 2,200 NOAA employees have been let go under the Trump administration, and the White House budget proposal would cut NOAA's funding by 30%.

What could possibly go wrong when you defund the very agency responsible for keeping the public—and decision-makers—informed about critical climate and disaster-related issues? NOAA plays a key role in tracking extreme weather events, rising sea levels, and shifting climate patterns. Gutting its budget and eliminating vital research databases at a time when the effects of climate change are accelerating isn’t just short-sighted—it’s dangerous. As climate-related disasters become more frequent and severe each year, weakening NOAA’s capacity to analyze data and warn the public undermines both public safety and long-term national resilience. It's a textbook case of willful ignorance in the face of mounting evidence.

It is also a bad economically - Short‑term failures undermine political wil leading to missed forecasts or data deficiencies during major hurricanes or heatwaves which can shake public confidence. Politicians may seize on these failures to question the need for further investment, perpetuating a cycle of underfunding. As climate impacts intensify, delayed mitigation and adaptation increase economic damages. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that every dollar cut today in climate research can cost many times that amount in future disaster relief and infrastructure repair.

 

[Optimus Prime]

See below. Here is my comment

I've always thought that there were three governments

1. Those who are elected by the people

2. Those who are appointed/hired by those who are elected

3. Everyone else. By far the largest group that make up "The Government". The career civil servants. Those who have dedicated their professional lives to serving their fellow Americans in many different capacities big and small

These are people who serve year after year. Decade after decade.

They served under administrations they voted for and administrations they didn't.

They served under Presidents and policies they liked and those they didn't

Their accomplishments and achievements are sometimes publicly celebrated and sometimes not

But they always do the work and they do it well and should be protected
=================================================

Trump’s maximalist strategy of firing off one executive action after another seeks to overwhelm us. Finding some tangible way to respond sometimes feels impossible. So, here is something that you can do:

Take the time you would have spent complaining about politics online, and use it to write a comment opposing the proposed Office of Personnel Management rule to politicize public services. You can do it in 5 minutes. Deadline is May 23rd!

Why should you do this?

• The proposed rule seeks to reinstate Schedule F, Trump’s never implemented plan to institutionalize political control and loyalty tests for the career bureaucracy by turning 50,000 or more career civil servants into political appointees.
• Federal comments really do matter. By law, they must be read by the administration, and substantive comments require a response. Failure to do so can see the rule tossed out by courts.
• It’s easy: Enter a comment here. No log in. Just click on the “submit a public comment” button. You can enter text, or upload a document.
• The volume of opposing comments matters, so writing something short and sweet is great. You don’t need to read the rule in depth or be an expert. The proposed rule is bad and protecting nonpartisan civil servants is good. See more details below or take a look at the comments people have already posted.
• More detailed and informed comments are even better. One thing that is different from the first time Schedule F was introduced is that we now have a track record showing how Trump’s much more politicized mismanagement of the federal government is having negative effects, and handing him more power would be a disaster. I am especially appealing to people with deep knowledge of policies and management to explain how Schedule F would hurt their domain of expertise. Please, please, please weigh in to provide actual information about how providing protections for career officials will protect against political abuses. If a bunch of people with real and credible experience comment, it becomes harder for the administration and judges to ignore us. I will leave comments to this piece open, so people can share their comments if they wish.

If there is someone you know who you think would be great to write a comment, take a moment to share this post with them.

Here is a specific thing you can do to fight Trump's politicization of public services

Plus: what I wrote in Science about the revised Schedule F

donmoynihan.substack.com

Federal Register :: Request Access

www.federalregister.gov

 

[Optimus Prime]

Naomi Anderson was on leave looking after her young baby when she was told her US Department of Agriculture job helping farmers in developing countries was being cut. A former volunteer with the Peace Corps, which sends young Americans overseas to projects in emerging economies, Anderson had expected to spend her whole career in international development.

“I had taken this job two years ago expecting to stay here for at least 10 years, and you know, we had started to make a community and build up our life here. In January, we had started looking at buying a home,” she says.

Now Anderson is having to consider giving up the apartment in the Washington DC commuter town of Reston, Virginia, that she shares with her husband and their four-month-old baby and almost two-year-old toddler.


“Financially, it’s a little bit precarious, and honestly we’re not sure what we’re going to do,” says Anderson, who is also an activist with the local branch of the AFSCME union and dabbles in selling political merchandise. “We’re thinking about moving back to Ohio, where I’m from, where my family is. You know, it’s a lot cheaper there.”

Anderson is far from alone. “In our apartment complex, there’s been lots of yard sales, people selling things and moving away. It really does seem like people are just picking up and leaving, because it’s too expensive to live here without a job,” she says.

Tough life-decisions like these have been forced on hundreds of thousands of former federal employees in the past couple of months, as the so-called department of government efficiency (Doge), which is headed up by Donald Trump’s favourite tech billionaire, Elon Musk, has slashed jobs in a cost-cutting spree.

Data from the latest monthly Challenger jobs report suggests Doge has been responsible for 281,452 layoffs so far – almost eight times the number of workers the government let go in the entire year to April 2024.

Brendan Demich is among those to be laid off, losing his job as an engineer at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. All his colleagues working on mine safety, as well as those in their sister laboratory who tested equipment such as respirators, are also being laid off – more than 200 in total – as part of a wave of cuts initiated by Trump’s health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr.

“So many people are devastated,” says Demich, who is a branch representative for the AFGE union. He says so many workers have been removed at once that their colleagues have barely been able to give them any kind of send-off. “It’s just unceremoniously leaving, because they had their package processed and they had to walk out the door.”


Each of these layoffs has its own human impact, but experts are warning of a growing risk that they combine to trigger an economic retrenchment – particularly in areas with a heavy concentration of government jobs.……

‘So many are devastated’: Trump’s federal layoffs and their ripple effect

From Beltway Virginia to Pittsburgh, it is not just laid-off workers feeling the impact but whole local economies

www.theguardian.com