Key Players: Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy
Billionaire Elon Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy have proposed the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to target federal spending. While DOGE is not an official government entity, the duo aims to cut $500 billion annually.
Here’s what their plan entails.
The $500 Billion Target: Where Will Cuts Happen?
Musk and Ramaswamy plan to target spending unauthorized by Congress or being used in ways Congress never intended. This includes:
Corporation for Public Broadcasting: $535 million annually.
International organizations: $1.5 billion in grants.
Planned Parenthood and similar groups: Nearly $300 million annually.
Context
Federal spending primarily falls into mandatory programs like Social Security and Medicare (two-thirds of total spending) and discretionary spending, largely for defense. The biggest unauthorized spending source, according to the Congressional Budget Office, is veterans' health care, costing $119 billion annually. However, Musk and Ramaswamy haven’t suggested cuts in this area.
Unauthorized Spending: A Broader Look
Beyond the targets mentioned, many programs operate without current authorizations:
Opioid treatment programs
Housing assistance programs
NASA and NOAA (weather forecasting and climate monitoring)
Conservative think tanks like the Heritage Foundation suggest dismantling NOAA and reducing other program functions.
Cutting Federal Jobs
Musk and Ramaswamy argue for downsizing the federal workforce, potentially through:
Headcount reductions across agencies.
Relocating agencies out of Washington, D.C.
Early retirement incentives and severance payments to encourage voluntary exits.
The Numbers
Over 2 million federal employees will be employed in 2023, with most of them in Veterans Affairs or the armed services.
DOGE noted low workplace occupancy: Federal agencies in D.C. average 12% building use, with examples like the Department of Agriculture averaging only 6% occupancy.
The pair also aim to require federal workers to work in person five days a week, predicting this will lead to voluntary resignations.
Is This Feasible?
Efforts to reduce federal spending have faced limited success historically. For example:
In the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan’s cost-cutting commission proposed 2,500 reforms, most of which were not enacted.
Musk’s suggestion of cutting $2 trillion annually has been dismissed by experts as unrealistic.
Musk and Ramaswamy’s $500 billion target represents 8% of the $6.7 trillion federal budget, but it focuses on specific unauthorized expenditures.
Bottom Line
While the DOGE proposal has sparked debate, its feasibility hinges on executive authority to implement cuts, potential pushback from Congress, and public reaction to specific program reductions. Whether Musk and Ramaswamy’s vision can materialize remains to be seen.
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