Rightwing State and Native Govs Search to Observe in Elon’s Footsteps and DOGE Themselves

Elon Musk is trying to destroy the federal authorities by crippling the companies that ship public providers, preserve Individuals’ air and water clean, inform us what the upcoming climate seems like, and shield us from predatory firms. Conservative governments throughout the nation are so impressed with this effort that they, too, wish to destroy themselves and screw over their constituents.

Enterprise Insider reports that a handful of state and native governments are copying Musk’s “slash-and-burn playbook” and seeking to cull “wasteful” authorities applications. The initiatives are happening in not less than 18 states, counties, and cities, BI claims. The outlet studies:

The push is going on via government orders and legislative motion as governors, state lawmakers, and enterprise executives promise to root out what they view as waste and fraud inside state governments. They usually’ve adopted quirky names, together with the GOAT committee in Wisconsin and FLOGE in Florida. One state even has a BullDOGEr on the case.

The self-immolating impulse on show right here could be humorous if it weren’t so pathetic. Misguided and uninformed Individuals appear to consider that key providers—like training, water, roads, and climate studies—will probably be cheaper if they’re privatized. Sadly, they’re fully and completely unsuitable. As a substitute, slicing public funding normally simply signifies that your life is about to get a lot more durable. One conservative state legislator’s feedback, sourced by BI, present the thought course of right here:

Assemblyman Alex Sauickie of New Jersey, a Republican who sponsored a DOGE invoice in his state, stated effectivity in spending was king. “We’re going to need to make these choices and say, ‘Hey, we are able to’t be funding minor league ballparks or tennis courts or dominoes golf equipment with taxpayer cash,’” he stated. The state auditor would lead the group, alongside 20 members of the general public.

Yeah, a free minor league ballpark? That simply can not stand. Reduce the funding and let the townspeople construct their personal ballpark. That’ll be much more environment friendly and cheap for everyone.

It needs to be apparent at this level that Musk just isn’t making the federal government extra environment friendly, neither is he saving taxpayers cash. A current report confirmed that federal spending hit a brand new file final month. Certainly, authorities spending in February was $36 billion higher than last February, when Biden was in workplace. That’s as a result of a lot of the companies that Musk is terrorizing characterize minuscule fractions of federal spending (which means that, for the cash, they’re really fairly environment friendly). A majority of federal spending is on entitlements like Social Safety and Medicare, which Individuals—together with Trump’s base—overwhelmingly assist retaining.

True dyed-in-the-wool authorities “effectivity” followers shouldn’t have any worry, nevertheless, as a result of Musk appears to wish to do away with these applications, too. DOGE has made quite a few assaults on the Social Safety Administration and appears decided to downsize and hamstring it. Musk not too long ago referred to as Social Safety a “Ponzi scheme.”