Department of Government Efficiency - DOGE

[theFallGuy]

@InVOLuntary - I want to slash and slash like crazy. We have to fundamentally change spending in this country. That means some sacred cows will have to get slaughtered....

You cut the budgets and you'll end up cutting the waste

Bottom line here is I think there is no exact science to this. I was talking to my wife about this because she was irritated with how it is being handled. My opinion is, no matter what spending you cut or what the process is, the media and embedded bureaucrats are going to freak out. Everyone wants to decrease spending until it directly affects them. But the long term outlook for us is not good if we don't do something. You risk imploding your entire economy.

If you read the DOGE twitter account, assuming some of this is accurate, the spending is insane. Imagine your company have 300 microsoft licenses and no users for it. Crap like that would never happen in private business. And I realize that's a miniscule amount, but every bit counts IMO.

 

[volbound1700]

I'm just glad there's an article out now addressing the purchase card stuff. I'm way more worried about that, especially since now the implementation of the new medical supplies contracts is on indefinite hold because there's nobody left to do it.

My Father-in-Law works for VA but is basically on the verge of retirement. He even announced prior to Trump taking office. So he has basically been ignoring all this stuff coming in. I think his timeframe to retire was May (it is coming up).

 

[ButchPlz]

My Father-in-Law works for VA but is basically on the verge of retirement. He even announced prior to Trump taking office. So he has basically been ignoring all this stuff coming in. I think his timeframe to retire was May (it is coming up).

He's getting out at the right time, then.

A lot of times I think the patient safety argument is abused and misused, which makes it fall on deaf ears when you've actually got genuine issues like this that come up. There's a facility out in Washington that's a little remote that uses their purchase cards for 100% of medical supplies spend because no vendor will sign a contract with the level of guaranteed service required due to the size and location of the facility. If they get lost in the shuffle of this random 500 card limit, what are they going to do?

That's the kind of stuff that should have been asked about.

 

[volbound1700]

Bottom line here is I think there is no exact science to this. I was talking to my wife about this because she was irritated with how it is being handled. My opinion is, no matter what spending you cut or what the process is, the media and embedded bureaucrats are going to freak out. Everyone wants to decrease spending until it directly affects them. But the long term outlook for us is not good if we don't do something. You risk imploding your entire economy.

If you read the DOGE twitter account, assuming some of this is accurate, the spending is insane. Imagine your company have 300 microsoft licenses and no users for it. Crap like that would never happen in private business. And I realize that's a miniscule amount, but every bit counts IMO.

You would be surprised. I got tasked with doing things for our Latin America division and I feel like DOGE for my company sometimes. Granted, nothing that bad, but yeah Companies have flaws as well.

The red herring is health care. I really don't think all of it is fraud or waste, I just think health care is that EXPENSIVE. Prior to 1950, nations didn't grapple with that as there, effectively, wasn't any government health care programs. Ever nation in the globe is now struggling with insolvency because their governments are covering health care and it continues to climb. The passing away of the Baby Boomers may bring some relief to that.

The thing is, what is the worse that can happen if the USA refuses to pay or writes off some of its debt? That is an option. There are also nations that owe sizable debts to our government that we can call in.

The spending is definitely unsustainable but I don't think the people of America would be willing to really take the necessary actions needed to fix it.

Not sure why DOGE is even considering refund checks to us. The COVID-19 checks put us into major debt.

 

[ButchPlz]

At the end of the day, the main thing people ought to worry about is that when you start running like this and making critical mistakes, you begin to lose your public mandate bit by bit to actually do a good, meaningful job. Going about this as stupidly as they are is no better than bureaucrats making stupid decisions with short-term goals in mind. The first time a really bad story hits the news and questions get asked that Elon and his bunch can't answer, you may not see too much pushback. But when a load come out, whether fair or not, what happens? Elon is going to get this effort that we all want killed because he doesn't know what he's doing.

 

[CobbVol]

The parameters of the reconciliation package, which will impact taxes and spending was passed in the House. Trump personally lobbying reps to vote for it with 150B more in defense spending says a whole lot more than any public stmt

Actions speak louder than words....

Defense spending as a % of GDP has been between 3-4% for nearly 2 decades. Do you think it should it be below 3%, above 4%, or stay in that range?

 

[Orangeslice13]

Giving people 15 minutes to grab their personal belongings and gtfo seems unnecessarily cruel and demeaning.

Better than being met at the door with their **** boxed up for them

 

[theFallGuy]

Not sure why DOGE is even considering refund checks to us. The COVID-19 checks put us into major debt.

probably to help gain public support for more slashing IMO

 

[Orangeslice13]

@InVOLuntary - I want to slash and slash like crazy. We have to fundamentally change spending in this country. That means some sacred cows will have to get slaughtered....

You cut the budgets and you'll end up cutting the waste

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
And a damn balanced budget

 

[ButchPlz]

Defense spending as a % of GDP has been between 3-4% for nearly 2 decades. Do you think it should it be below 3%, above 4%, or stay in that range?

It depends. Is it generating value? Based on the recruitment issues and weapons developments stuck in hell that I see on a weekly basis I'd say no.

Just like with the Dept. of Education, arguing for more spend on something that doesn't work because you assume spend will fix it is stupid. Make an analysis and do the right thing.

 

[utvolpj]

probably to help gain public support for more slashing IMO

You need to increase debt to cut more? I'm usually pretty good with math but that sounds off

 

[InVOLuntary]

He's getting his information from someone working in the agency.

I realize that but where is he ( ) getting his information?

 

[InVOLuntary]

do you have @ButchPlz blocked? because he has been all over this with first hand info.

And where is he getting his information?

 

[theFallGuy]

You need to increase debt to cut more? I'm usually pretty good with math but that sounds off

I'm not agreeing with it, was just giving my opinion on why it was being proposed

 

[BigOrangeMojo]

Defense spending as a % of GDP has been between 3-4% for nearly 2 decades. Do you think it should it be below 3%, above 4%, or stay in that range?

You dont compare a spending budget to value of the economy. Spending budgets should be in line with inflation...

The MIC has you brainwashed

NVDA or Apple doesnt make their budgets based on their market cap. That's essentially what you are recommending here....

 

[MercyPercy]

Didn't expect the chickens to come home to roost this early. Between this and the Epstein dog and pony show I imagine there are some dissasitisfied buyers.

 

[ButchPlz]

And where is he getting his information?

Literally from my job and staring at the contract numbers and spend data, doofus. I've posted it over and over.

 

[ButchPlz]

Didn't expect the chickens to come home to roost this early. Between this and the Epstein dog and pony show I imagine there are some dissasitisfied buyers.

I don't normally agree with you, but the Epstein stuff alone shows that this administration has already lost it. It's almost so bad as to make it seem like this is intentional to remove any teeth from the populist movement here in the US.

 

[InVOLuntary]

Literally from my job and staring at the contract numbers and spend data, doofus. I've posted it over and over.

So do you think it's possible for someone up the chain manipulating things to make this look bad for the current administration?

 

[volbound1700]

probably to help gain public support for more slashing IMO

Well it definitely makes sense for the PR move but it isn't good for the country (unless the debt is more noise than reality. I have heard rumors about that, for example I have heard that China and Japan owes us Trillions and if we called back those debts, we could pay our own debt off. We don't do that because it would have global economic issues).

 

[ButchPlz]

So do you think it's possible for someone up the chain manipulating things to make this look bad for the current administration?

Yes, Elon Musk.

It's directly his team that made these cuts and decisions coming out of the GSA, and it's his team that drafted the VA administrator's talking points, and it's his team using a language learning model without understanding operations across agencies, etc. etc. The pants-on-head retardation is coming from Musk's office. You want to suggest he's intentionally tanking Trump? That'll be fun.

I posted about the purchase card issue a day or two before any article was published on it. I posted about contract cuts that you're about to see come to pass, assuming the pushback doesn't force retractions. I posted about something that is happening literally today that won't hit the news til next week. Every once in a while someone knows more than you, o grand chieftan.

 

[LouderVol]

I don't normally agree with you, but the Epstein stuff alone shows that this administration has already lost it. It's almost so bad as to make it seem like this is intentional to remove any teeth from the populist movement here in the US.

If the other side was organized AT ALL, I would agree.

I have always found the thought of Trump being a plant plausible, even if unlikely.

 

[MercyPercy]

I don't normally agree with you, but the Epstein stuff alone shows that this administration has already lost it. It's almost so bad as to make it seem like this is intentional to remove any teeth from the populist movement here in the US.

I dislike Trump which should be obvious based on my post history but I've never been a chicken little sky screamer. I never decried the end of democracy. I even think he (or his people) have some good policies that they do a piss poor job of selling because instead of presenting their arguments logically they rush to taunt and "own the libs" and in that rush they are making tons of mistakes.

I truly don't understand what he's doing with Canada right now. EU, I kind of get it. Play tough and let them take care of Ukraine. Canada? And don't even get me started on Trump Gaza (TM). He's either getting some bad advice or there is truly no one left to check his meandering thoughts.

 

[ButchPlz]

If the other side was organized AT ALL, I would agree.

I have always found the thought of Trump being a plant plausible, even if unlikely.

Just the stupidity of going after what they're going after without putting that same lack of critical thinking into defense spending (which is a massive sinkhole of funds and where actual fraud is, just done by the right) is just so goofy. It's apparent they have a process to pick through things (see: defense, as old involundingus points out- "they'll get to it eventually!"). Why are they not using this process in other areas?

I am beginning to agree that this is all just meat. We owe it to our country not to be idiotic party-line drones like the blueanons all over the place, but this is all leaving a really bad taste in my mouth.

 

[InVOLuntary]

Yes, Elon Musk.

It's directly his team that made these cuts and decisions coming out of the GSA, and it's his team that drafted the VA administrator's talking points, and it's his team using a language learning model without understanding operations across agencies, etc. etc. The pants-on-head retardation is coming from Musk's office. You want to suggest he's intentionally tanking Trump? That'll be fun.

I posted about the purchase card issue a day or two before any article was published on it. I posted about contract cuts that you're about to see come to pass, assuming the pushback doesn't force retractions. I posted about something that is happening literally today that won't hit the news til next week. Every once in a while someone knows more than you, o grand chieftan.

And again, you are being fed information from bureaucrats protecting their turf. Are there mistakes being made, absolutely. You are being reactionary. Things will work there way out.