Elon Musk wants to cut spending in America. And to achieve this it has hired technocrats, not economists.

If politicians and economists can’t fix the economy, can technologists? That’s what Elon Musk thinks, who, along with entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, has begun recruiting members of a team that will, in theory, make extraordinary improvements. But there is a long way to go from saying to doing. In this case, a lot.

DogeThe Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which Musk has been talking about since before the elections, has become the latest major project of the magnate, who promised to cut the US federal government budget by $2 trillion. This is a staggering number and a wonderfully optimistic outlook, especially considering that the budget is currently $7 trillion.

Nothing from economics expertsTo achieve this, Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, who is also an entrepreneur and in charge of the project, are starting to make famous signatures to achieve these objectives. But they are not going to people with experience in this field, and have instead signed tech personalities.

star signatureThese signatories include Antonio Gracias (investor and former director of Tesla), Steve Davis (chairman of The Boring Company), Joe Lonsdale (co-founder of Palantir), Marc Andreessen and Bill Ackman (investors), and Travis Kalanick (former CEO). Are included. of Uber). None of them have experience in the government sector. According to The Wall Street Journal, Andreessen is in charge of directing this recruitment of talent to implement the ambitious budget-cutting project. Gracias and Davis had already helped Musk make controversial deep cuts to the Twitter (now X) workforce when he acquired it.

“Profitability Minister”Although at the moment this department is not official, Elon Musk will actually become a type of minister who will be in charge of eliminating everything that is not profitable for the US government. DOGE will be an external body that will provide advice and consultation to implement drastic cost-cutting measures.

Expert ReviewsAt the WSJ, several financial and legal experts who have seen previous initiatives fail say Musk’s aim is even more far-fetched. Musk and Ramaswamy’s plans include repealing “thousands” of government regulations and cutting federal employees. Many businesses and jobs depend on federal regulation and spending, and the impact of these measures can be huge. George Washington University professor Richard J. Pierce claims that Musk and Ramaswamy “completely ignore” the realities of federal law: Repealing current rules is far more complicated than their public speeches suggest.

2 trillion by 2026During the campaign, Elon Musk talked about cutting the budget by $2 trillion before July 4, 2006 – when the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence is celebrated – but this figure seems huge, especially considering That budget is currently $7 trillion. , This could mean cutting very popular programs like Social Security or Medicare. Trump suggested he would not touch such services as part of his campaign promises.

visual observationAlthough Musk’s words make it appear that DOGE will have some ability to make decisions without delay, the reality is that even with Trump’s support there will likely be government oversight to approve measures proposed by DOGE. Polarizing Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene could put an official department in charge of overseeing such proposals. It remains to be seen whether DOGE and its team of Silicon Valley personalities or supervisory departments actually impact the US economy.

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