Thank You for reading to the end!

If you enjoyed this thread you can check out the full article going further in depth here:

https://buff.ly/42lFalC

The fight against government waste is nothing new, but it’s a fight worth having. Whether DoGE succeeds will depend on learning from the past, collaborating with agencies, and embracing sustainable reform. What do you think: Can Musk & Ramaswamy pull it off?

The big question: Can DoGE strike the right balance between ambition and practicality? The U.S. spends $1.7T annually on discretionary programs, so there’s room to trim—but effective change requires more than bold ideas. It requires strategy.

Musk & Ramaswamy seem to favor a 'tear it down' approach—massive cuts and gutting agencies. But history shows working with agencies is more effective. Drastic changes may face significant resistance in a system designed for consensus.

Compare that to Al Gore’s 1993 National Partnership for Reinventing Government. It worked with agencies to streamline operations, cut 400K jobs, and repeal outdated rules. The result? $136B saved and increased public trust in government.

This isn’t the first time business leaders have been tasked with government reform. In 1982, Reagan’s Grace Commission estimated $400B in savings but failed to deliver due to a lack of practical implementation. Ambition isn’t enough—you need a plan.

Enter the new DoGE, led by Elon Musk & Vivek Ramaswamy. They’re outsiders with ambitious goals to cut up to $1T from federal spending. Musk calls for abolishing agencies like the Department of Education & the CFPB. Is this really the way forward? History would probably say no.

One of the GAO’s big wins? Auditing military programs. For example, they identified 7,732 more Stinger missiles than reported and saved $4.8B by helping the Dept. of Defense improve its payment systems. Proper oversight makes a difference.

In 1975, the GAO was tasked with tackling government waste specifically. That year, it saved $284M ($1.65B today). Fast forward to today and over the last decade the GAO has saved taxpayers nearly $1 TRILLION. Slow and steady progress, but progress nonetheless.

The first major effort to address inefficiency came in 1921, when the Budget Act created the General Accounting Office (GAO). Its mission: audit congressional spending. The GAO had some success cleaning up the mess left by WWI. But this was just the beginning.

Even George Washington had to admit:
'Democratic States must always feel before they can see...this makes their governments slow—but the people will be right at last.'
This built-in friction complicates efforts to tackle waste.

First, let’s acknowledge the elephant in the room: the U.S. government was designed to be inefficient. The founders built a system of checks and balances to prevent power from being centralized. This has benefits, but it also slows down progress—especially on waste.

From the Bellwether Posts most recent article The Struggle For Government Efficiency

https://buff.ly/40GdJBP

Very good read.

It would be nice to have an organized opposition that actually offers alternatives instead of just complaining.

The left needs more of this. The people who engage in what is traditionally considered "right wing" activities who have enough decency to maintain the values that made this country great.