Elon Musk calls Social Security "the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time." That's rich coming from the richest person in the world.
It's also frightening coming from the person wielding a chainsaw to government programs -- promising to cut $2 trillion from the federal budget, when Social Security is one of the largest of all government programs.
Acting Social Security Administration (SSA) Commissioner Leland Dudek told a group this week that Musk's DOGE is essentially in charge of the SSA.
"Things are currently operating in a way I have never seen in government before," Dudek said, referring to Musk's cost-cutting team as "outsiders who are unfamiliar with nuances of SSA programs." He continued: "I am receiving decisions that are made without my input. I have to effectuate those decisions.'"
The reason I include this as a reason for optimism is that Social Security is also the most popular of all government programs. By demeaning and threatening Social Security, Musk is touching the proverbial "third rail" of American politics.
Good. Let Trump and other Republicans try to wiggle out of this one.
3. DOGE's credibility is shot.
Musk's group claims to have saved taxpayers $65 billion so far. But DOGE has itemized only its cancellations of contracts and leases, totaling about $10 billion.
Not even these contract cancellations amount to much. The New York Times found many so-called "cancelled" contracts had actually ended under previous presidents.
By some estimates, DOGE has saved the government just $2 billion. That comes to 1/35 of 1 percent of the federal budget.
Repeated errors have raised questions about the quality and veracity of the information Musk's DOGE is putting out. The mistakes also call into question the team members' competence -- whether they understand the government well enough to cut it while avoiding catastrophe.
This week, Musk again demanded every federal worker justify their employment, and once again, his hastily executed email has sowed confusion and resistance throughout the workforce, with many agency heads openly defying it.
Federal workers at NASA's Human Landing System (HLS) program didn't know how to respond because HLS has contracted with Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin rocket company, the major competitor to Musk's SpaceX, and HLS workers didn't want to disclose to Musk what they were doing.
At the same time, the Commerce Department has adjusted a government program to make it easier for states and municipalities to use government subsidies to buy Musk's Starlink internet service.
(Mark my words: When all this is put together, it will make Warren G. Harding's Teapot Dome scandal look like a game of checkers.)
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