DOGE: Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead

And then throw Trump into the mix. Trump, Musk and Ramaswamy working together. What could go wrong? The big one is Musk. Trump's not going to tolerate him for long.

 

It did nor bother you when debt went up under obama and biden, so why now?

 

I'm certainly ok with the status quo if the alternative to the status quo is Trump destroying our country. And we don't need to cut 2 trillion from the yearly budget to find out that it will cause massive hardship on people and the economy. We already know that.

 

It bothered you when debt went up under Obama and Biden, so why not now?

 

I did not say it doesn’t, just asking you why now it bothers you

 

LOL. So cutting govt waste is now destroying the country. Yeah, good luck convincing anyone you aren't delusional. So what's the big deal if we only cut $750 Million of waste? Nothing. Musk isn't being paid, so you can't complain about that but I'm sure you will somehow lol. Again, your side lost. Elections have consequences as Obama said. Best if you take that 4 year cruise...

 

It’s interesting. He seems to be signaling cuts to programs. Must be the pain the keep talking about post election.

 

No, cutting government waste is fine. It's just that there isn't anywhere near 2 trillion per year of waste to cut. Only cutting $750 million of waste is fine but it will make no real difference on the deficit. To cut 2 trillion without cutting defense means cutting SS and Medicare, and many other programs people depend on. Simple as that.

 

We already know the US Govt admitted they wasted $226 Billion last year. You think that's all there is that's waste? I love that you are holding 2 trillion like it's some guaranteed number. Did you complain like this when anyone on the left made a pledge and you thought it was outrageous? We all know the answer to this. You are unhinged because trump won and you are lashing out with hate about musk. It's funny to see that you are actively complaining about someone who will audit the books of the US govt for free LOL. Should really look into that 4 year cruise...

Why do you think Musk wouldn't cut the defense budget? Oh, dem talking points, got it. We need cuts across the board because our govt spends like a drunken sailor. Needs to stop.

 

Musk's claim is 2 trillion, that's why I'm using that number. Sure they can cut 226 billion, and that would be fine, but that's not the claim. That you even think it's possible to 2 trillion without causing great economic hardship is ludicrous. Even Musk admits it would cause hardship.

And yes, I've criticized politicians on the left for making outlandish claims. It's just the outlandish claims are so much more frequent and insane coming from Trump and the people under him.

 

As usual you are unable to follow a cogent thought.

First, I was speaking about federal efficiency which is unrelated to what you just posted. I showed you how much money the government runs on and its not that much of the budget.

Second, you have no idea what an improper payment audit is apparently because it does not mean the government lost money and certainly not $236B. Please reread what you are talking about and come back educated.

 

Sure, point some of these criticisms out for me. I'll take one. Do you see me claiming 2 trillion is possible? All i said is we don't know until we start cutting. But back to your bitching because your side lost lol.

 

Sure. You go read it and get back to me. I do love the left not wanting an audit of the books. It's like the voter ID issue. You guys know it's what should be done but because your team likes no ID you have to bend over backwards and make the racist bs claims. Too funny.

 

Well you called it 'wild conjecture' to say you can't cut 2 trillion per year without hurting people or the economy. That's what I'm going on here. If you've changed your tune and now say it's not possible to cut that much without harming people and the economy, then we are now in agreement.

 

Nothing wrong with auditing the books. But putting Musk in charge of it, given the billions he gets from the government for his companies, is putting the fox in charge of the henhouse.

 

It is wild conjecture. You have no idea if Musk can do that or not. I don't think he can but there is zero harm trying. But there is harm to you because your side lost and you are only complaining because of that. You never do this for your side and can't show me that you've ever done this. So again, you are just complaining to complain.

 

At least you now grasp government efficiency impact is relatively small.

This new issue is a bit of fool's gold as well. Most improper payments are not fraudulent and do not represent a monetary loss to taxpayers. Fraud is less than 1%. 1% on a big number is pretty big though so good luck getting it from 1% to 0.5% or something, I am all for it. It just isnt $236B - that is a made up number. The numbers did not change under Trump the last time he ran the government. They went down in 2022 and 2023.

Government-wide Improper Payments Declined in FY 2022 | OMB | The White House
Government-wide Improper Payments Declined in FY 2023 | OMB | The White House

Here are the numbers for each year including under Trump.
Annual Improper Payments Datasets

 

Right, did the dems audit the books? Did you call on the dems to audit the books? We all know the answer to that. You think musk is going to say, I want even more money let me rip off the us govt? Wow, the election last week really messed you up.

 

So then you do think it's possible to cut 2 trillion without harming the economy. Elon disagrees with you. As much of a POS as he is, at least he understands you can't cut that much without causing hardship.

 

You and I have no idea how much fraud there is nor what needless things can be cut. I get it, you don't care because the left doesn't care about that crap. The right usually doesn't either. And sorry, I don't buy the govt telling me there isn't any fraud/waste. I don't buy it at all. Anyone believing that is either ignorant or dumb. No middle ground there. Again, why the issue with musk/vivek auditing the books to look for pork and get rid of it. We spend way too much and it is the main driver of inflation. And they aren't getting paid. Why anyone is bitching about this is hilarious to me. Just bitching to bitch.