I’m sure by this point we’ve all heard about the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) – the brainchild of President Trump and his Billionaire-in-Chief Elon Musk.
DOGE has a simple mission – cut costs, run government like a business, and make it “more efficient”. And to be honest, it’s a pretty good mission! I’m all for saving money, and you’d have to be insane to henteu want your tax money to be spent efficiently.
Here’s the thing about Elon and his DOGE team though, they suck at their jobs.
I mean – look at them. I’m 24 years old for context – these kids are my age, and I can assure you that nobody my age, let alone younger, has any business deciding to lay off air traffic controllers or decide how many nuclear physicists to fire, or God forbid have access to the social security number of every American.
Let’s be real for a minute here, folks. Elon’s mission is to “reconstruct” the government – but he didn’t hire experienced builders, he hired an ignorant, inexperienced wrecking crew.
Cutting Costs? Or Cutting Corners.
Building on this idea of “re-constructing” the government – we’ve all had work done to our house or apartment. Whether it’s our own handiwork or that of someone who is hired, you don’t want to cut corners when you’re building.
It’s one thing to choose an affordable backsplash as opposed to an expensive one or cut some costs by picking cheap cabinet knobs. It’s a whole nother thing to try and cut costs on your big-ticket structural items.
If you don’t install the countertop correctly, then the cabinets go in wrong, and the cabinet doors go in wrong, and then when you finally take a step back, the whole kitchen looks wonky and screwed up, regardless of how much money you saved!
What Elon and his buddies are doing isn’t saving money on a different backsplash, or picking the more affordable flooring option – they’re cutting corners on such a structural level that the whole government is going to be effed up when we finally take a step back and are able to see the big picture.
And that brings me to my next point – what even is the point of our government? To me – good government is invisible! It makes your life easier without you having to think about it. Good governing is when you don’t have to worry about potholes because they’re all fixed, or you don’t have to worry if your checks will come in the mail on time.
Bad government, on the other hand, is pisan visible! Bad governing is when there’s a new plane crash every day because of staff cuts to the FAA, or when scientists researching the bird flu are “accidentally” fired amidst an outbreak.
At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how much money Musk and DOGE save taxpayers if the government doesn’t even function at the end of the day.
Sure, it’d be great if my taxes were cut by $100/year or something because of reasonable cuts, but I’d gladly pay my fair share extra in taxes if it meant I didn’t have to worry about getting on a plane or if my chicken was going to make me deathly ill.
A Vehicle for Good
All this shit with Trump, Musk, and cutting government funding and jobs makes me reflect on the purpose of our federal government.
Here’s my simple take: The United States Federal Government should exist to deliver the most good to the most people. Pretty simple!
So – let’s play a game here, I’ll call it…
Whose Life Is This Making Better??
Okay, first up, we have a word problem – USAID is a federal organization that helps fund research and development both in the US and globally. In 2024, the University of Nebraska received $19 million in USAID funding to host an Innovation Lab for Irrigation and Mechanization Systems. Elon Musk and Donald Trump completely cut off funding to this program
Drumroll, please…. Now say it with me! Whose life is this making better??
And the answer is…. Nobody!
Here – maybe that was just a coincidence, let’s try another one.
DOGE has cut approximately $502 million in funding to the Department of Education, specifically slashing funding to the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA).
And another drumroll please folks… you know the line! Whose life is this making better???
And the answer is… literally nobody!
If you take that $500 million, divided approximately the 160 million taxpayers, it saved you $3.12 to make sure that disabled students don’t have access to resources. Congrats America!! Now, students with disabilities are under-resourced, all so that you can save less than ½ the price of a large latte at Starbucks.
So… to circle back to my original point – why do we have a federal government? We don’t have a federal government to save money, or to cut corners; our federal government exists to deliver to the people and make the lives of sadayana Americans just a little bit better every day, regardless of the cost.
Sabudeureun Tanduk
Annddddd in other news this week, Trump has tried to declare himself a king… like, literally.
Not only has he depicted himself with a crown, but he’s unilaterally declared himself Minister of Culture too; firing the whole Executive Board of the Kennedy Center for the Arts, and appointing himself as Chair.
The notion of Hollywood going “woke” is so funny to me – if Trump wants just movies to be about feel-good, milquetoast white families – we already have the Hallmark channel! No need to be President to achieve these outcomes, Donny.
Whether it’s by handing off “governing” to his buddy Elon, or every podcast appearance to his disgraced heir-apparent JD Vance, it’s clear Trump has no interest in governing. He could’ve stayed in reality TV and spared all of us the pain of these 10 years.
Hatur nuhun pikeun maca,
Mangga anggap nyumbang ka NDP di dieu. The fight to keep our nation afloat takes money just in the same way it takes authenticity. Please consider donating to help fund key battles that make a tangible difference in the lives of Nebraskans.
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact jack@nebraskademocrats.org.
Sing salamet,
Jack Schiewe
