I am certainly willing to entertain the proposition that there is inefficiency in our federal government and that money could be saved by reorganization. But the way Mr. Trump and Mr. Musk are handling this task is at best ham-handed and at worst could result in many catastrophes. Instead of moving incredibly rapidly during the very short period after inauguration, why not take several months to study systematically where improvements could be made. And the person in charge of this effort should hold an official government position and be confirmed by the Senate.
I cannot imagine a private sector entity that would send out a massive email message to its employees encouraging retirement without first investigating which departments are performing in a satisfactory manner and which need help. I read that all 400 employees of the National Transportation Safety Board were sent such messages, right around the time of three different aircraft incidents that resulted in many deaths. And USAID employees were pulled out of supervising medical trials while their patients had devices implanted in their bodies. And the Centers for Disease Control has been hit with massive layoffs at a time when epidemics and even pandemics have become more likely. There are many more examples of impetuous and thoughtless actions on the part of the Trump administration, such as our withdrawal from the World Health Organization.
Instead of pillorying government operations, how about investigating our health care system, much of which is privatized (of course, the VA is not a good example of socialized medicine at work). We spend twice as much per capita as any other country, yet we fall short on many objective measures such as infant mortality and life expectancy. Since Mr. Donegan is retired and presumably has expertise and time, perhaps he would like to offer his services in this cause.
Jay Devore
Los Osos
This article appears in Feb 20 – Mar 2, 2025.
Ultimately the answer is that they aren’t actually interested in government efficiency, if they were they wouldn’t lie about the value of the contracts they cancel (i.e. reporting that an $8m cancelled contract was worth $8b). It is all about creating chaos and in that chaos there will be blindspots for businesses to break the law to improve their bottom line. It is also meant to punish those people they see as their enemies: the poor, the disadvantaged, the disabled, and anyone else they believe has benefited from social programs they think were implemented by Dem leadership. This is because conservatives do not believe in representing all people in the country, only those who cheer loud enough or cut checks big enough are seen as their constituents.
Thank You Jay Devore, for your excellent statement based on proven business/agency practices, processes and facts. It is good to hear someone that understands the planning process in any undertaking to find which agencies and programs are functioning well, which ones need help, and which ones need reorganizing or being merged into other related agencies. But if must be done according to the laws and policies that apply, in a professional manner.
The Musk/Trump Project 2025 method that they are using is being done to harm Americans, public servants, in order to inflict economic terrorism on them indiscriminately. “Cruelty is the point.”
(I bet Putin gave the Trump/Musk and the Heritage Foundation P-25)
And the bigger point is to instill fear in all Americans and make them “obey in advance” and fear the Dear Leader. (TS)
“Do Not Obey in Advance.” Professor Timothy Snyder is a good guide to listen to or read in these times.
Between 1993 and 1998, the Clinton Administration was effective in eliminating 250,000 federal government jobs and consolidating over 800 agencies, some of which were contracted to the private sector, the U.S. experienced zero recessions during this time and average GDP growth of 3.8%, higher than the average 3.1% he inherited or that we’ve seen since.
VP Al Gore was at the helm of this effort and it took several months for him and his team to identify how the government could save money. But, in the long run he was definitely effective as, by 1998, Clinton/Gore had balanced the federal budget, which had run up unprecedented debt (by 1990 standards). In fact, the years between 1998-2001 are the only years that the federal government ran a surplus in the last 55 years.
Now I am not here to endorse Mr. Clinton because his adherence to supply side Reaganomics, his signature on NAFTA and his role in repealing Glass-Steagall were obviously detrimental to the nation yet, as with every Democratic president since him, he left his successor with a stable economy. The same can not be said for W or Trump 45.
Unfortunately, Mr. Trump and Mr. Musk are not students of history. Their “chainsaw” approach to cutting the budget has been ham-handed at best, having to hire back nuclear engineers and agricultural scientists who were “accidentally” fired (how do you accidentally fire someone, unless you have no idea what you’re doing?).
And, by the way, Trump has no intention of balancing the budget, as Clinton did. He simply needs money so he can cut his and his rich donors’ taxes (to the tune of $5 trillion) and help Musk colonize Mars (several more trillion) with similar doughy faced white boys who love to knock up women (Musk has 13 children by four wives, not quite close to Brigham Young’s 57 children and 15 wives, but Mr. Musk is still young so I wouldn’t bet the under).
Allow me to put on my farmer hat, and observe that when a nursing piglet is pulled away from the sow, you are guaranteed to hear quite a bit of loud squealing.
Admittedly, the terminations are cruel to the employees terminated, who may have faithfully and diligently served the country for a long term. And they may be poorly thought out and ill considered, although all I have are the media reports, which are hardly an objective source on anything Trump and Musk and written by those who LIKE a large, profligate government.
Trump and Musk are doing what generations of politicians have promised, but never delivered on. Many have gotten bogged down “studying” the problem, and being confronted by pressure from the various constituencies which feed off of the government. It is an ugly process, but necessary.
Fire 100% of US federal employees and save a whopping 4% of federal spending. Whoo hoo
“In 2022, the federal government spent about $271 billion on compensation for its employees. This includes wages and benefits like health insurance and pensions”
But hey, let’s make sure the billionaires get their NEXT $4.5 TRILLION tax cut from Cheeto, they paid for it, they expect it, bottom 90% of US be damned
DUMB IS SIPMLY DUMB, NO RATIONAL, THINKING PERSON WOULD ACCEPT WHAT CHEETO AND LEON ARE DOING
BTW JOHN, CLINTON CUT 377,000 FEDERAL EMPLOYEES, WITH THE BACKING OF CONGRESS!
John D:
“It is an ugly process, but necessary.” Easy for you to say, you aren’t in your 20’s or 30’s, unemployed or underemployed, facing sky high rent, car payments, and food, with hopes of enjoying the things in life you were so easily handed. The thing with young people they (naively) still have hope. Give them a few few years of what’s coming, austerity, and the bread line and watch it all go away, to be replaced with nothing but anger and rage.
How long do you think they’ll put up with it while reading newspapers that tell them, as you have, to just basically “suck it up?” When they finally revolt, I’ll join them and their revolution won’t be neoliberal or libertarian in its flavor. It’ll be full seizing of what remains of our means of production and distribution and returning it all to the state, this includes intangibles like digital space and platforms.