Welcome to FollowingDOGE
Sunday 8 December 2024
I’ll admit—I’m still uneasy about the election results. Despite this, I applaud the creation of DOGE: the Department of Government Efficiency.
Only a naïve President would take on this challenge. Those well-versed in Washington's ways know how to exploit the government’s massive bureaucracy to appease constituencies and reward donors. Donald Trump is in a world of his own.
Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk seem like the ideal complements to Trump. While I doubt they’ll ever manage to cut $2 trillion from the budget—especially since discretionary spending is only $1.7 trillion—I do hope the duo succeeds in setting Washington on a new course. One that redefines our modern democratic republic, not just for the U.S., but for democracies worldwide, including the European Union. Against the threat of authoritarianism, democracy needs to do better. Ironically, it might take a home-grown authoritarian to put the U.S. on that new course.
The Federal Government is much like how investor and visionary Esther Dyson described the healthcare industry in 2006: “a calcified hairball.” Unlike healthcare, though, Washington’s calcified hairball is far bigger and bound inextricably by decades of unchecked spending. For too long, Washington has measured performance in budgets, not results.
The challenges are many, here are some the biggest:
25% of GDP: With U.S. Federal Government spending comprising about 25% of GDP, cutting Washington’s spending inevitably means cutting parts of the economy. Achieving this on any meaningful scale may prove too much for a President who measures success by economic growth and Wall Street highs.
Against Big Money: After some early wins, as Vivek Ramaswamy has suggested, DOGE will face powerful opposition from every corner. Politicians and contractors will scramble to protect their interests—donations and billion-dollar contracts alike. Will Donald Trump take on defense contractors and Big Pharma, who helped fund his victory? Given that he’s already won, Trump doesn’t need their favors. He just needs to let Vivek and Elon execute the DOGE plan.
Broken Payment Systems: If DOGE aims for a major, lasting victory (and not just symbolic ones), it should prioritize fixing Washington’s broken payment systems. In 2013, the U.S. Treasury highlighted problems with its systems that resulted in erroneous payments. The issue was never resolved and has only worsened. In 2021, a Department of Labor Inspector General report revealed that, “for 14 of the previous 17 years, 10% of payments were made improperly.” During COVID relief disbursements, improper payments skyrocketed to 42% in one audit. In 2022, the Government Accountability Office estimated $247 billion was lost to fraud and improper payments. Much of this money likely ended up with terrorists, drug cartels, and foreign adversaries, including North Korea and Russia.
The Government Way: The Federal Government has forgotten Franklin’s warning to never confuse motion with action. Efficiency is taught but rarely implemented. Lean Management for application development is taught too, but never adequately applied to reduce spending or improve efficiency. The Office of the Inspector General (IG) makes thousands of recommendations, yet only about 1% are ever enacted. That’s why the IG’s Integrity team measures “potential savings” rather than “real savings” on their website, www.oversight.gov. Even those tasked with exposing problems end up complicit in concealing them.
It will be a difficult and wobbly journey. Hold on, America. Hold on, world. Here comes Donald Trump, again!
Fred Eberlein
Copyright © 2024 The90DegreeTurn.com