Well known Billionaire and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, Elon Musk, has been appointed by President Trump to be the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Which is a new department Trump has made to cut unnecessary federal spending.
DOGE is tasked with identifying wasteful expenditures and implementing measures to streamline government operations. Its mission includes reforming policies and evaluating federal agencies to cut costs, often through privatization or eliminating redundant services. However, the department’s push for cost-saving measures could come at the expense of critical public services, making it a potential threat to programs that support vulnerable communities.
Musk came up as a self made tech genius comin dropping out of stanford after being accepted for physics, and made to tech startups in the “Dotcom boom” era, one notable startup being paypal. He then ploughed his fortune into SpaceX and Tesla which panned out well for him. Musk is a very debatable business man as he has made risky statements regarding what he has planned for the future of his business regarding human advancements. In the 2024 election he endorsed Trump and has become close friends with him. Enough to become the president of a federal spending department in government. Notice how not once has his past had anything to do with the government.
Musk’s experience in the private sector has largely been focused on pushing for less regulation and more market-driven solutions. Like trying to find cost effective ways to make profit. While this works well for a tech billionaire like Musk, the public sector operates under very different priorities. Government agencies are responsible for addressing social equity and public well-being, not maximizing profit margins. Musk’s approach could favor privatization, potentially leading to the loss of vital public services that many people rely on for their livelihoods, including healthcare, education, and social programs.
One of the most pressing concerns is Musk’s stated desire to reduce federal spending, which could result in cuts to essential social programs. If DOGE pushes to cut services that protect vulnerable populations, such as affordable housing, food assistance, and healthcare for the elderly—could be severely reduced. These cuts could disproportionately affect low-income communities and marginalized groups who are already living paycheck to paycheck or dealing with limited access to basic services.
Additionally, Musk’s lack of experience in managing public services raises doubts about his ability to implement policies that prioritize people over profits. While his companies like SpaceX and Tesla thrive in a competitive, capitalist environment, the role of the government is inherently different. Public services are not designed to make a profit but to meet the needs of all citizens. If Musk’s policies mirror the business strategies that made him a billionaire, we could see the most vulnerable members of society left behind in favor of efficiency goals that only benefit the wealthy.
Ultimately, while efficiency is a necessary goal for the government, it must not come at the expense of equity. If Musk’s leadership at DOGE has the mindset of a business, over providing equitable access to services, we could see even greater divisions in society. The future of programs that millions rely on is uncertain. But hopefully Musk will come with the mindset of keeping the people first and making sure the vulnerable are being protected.
Sources:
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/doge/elon-musk-trump-doge-executive-order-rcna191751
https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/elon-musk
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp820y16xvlo
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-61234231
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwyjz24ne85o
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/what-is-doge-elon-musk-findings-trump/
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/musk-treasury-social-security-access-federal-payment-system-trump/
2 comments:
Elon Musk is one interesting man. He's seen as this legendary man who built what he has now from scratch, all while having some insane sleeping habits, but his public image from what I can see has greatly shifted towards the worse (as evidenced by the sharp decline in TSLA stock from its peak at $470/share to where it sits now, at ~$290). It looks like his agenda is set on what benefits him the most; whether that was his strategic or not move to relocate Tesla headquarters from California to Texas, or his sudden involvement in the political scene, Musk certainly is doing all of this for the benefit of himself. I'm not quite sure of the impact of DOGE thus far, but I do know that it has already cut down tens of millions, if not hundreds, of government funding for social support programs. I don't necessarily believe that cutting down funding equates to government efficiency--maybe in the conservative sense--but I surely hope Elon doesn't break our government.
The issue is, as you mentioned, that Elon thinks that efficiency = profit. That’s because he runs private businesses. It is easy to squeeze the system for money when you are not running the system. To make the government efficient, taking records of what your employees are doing and forcing them to come into the office everyday isn’t making the government any more efficient. To be efficient and to help people, you need to spread money around. Cutting federal spending to increase profits, does not increase efficiency of citizens, many of whom rely on food stamps, housing assistance and medicare/medicaid. It is unclear what we as citizens can do about this, and it’s clear the government doesn’t seem to be able to do anything about it. This feels like Trump’s plan to continue to make the rich richer and the poor poorer. I keep reading that Elon is just out of touch with reality and he really is. He has the money to do whatever he wants and therefore the power to get permission to do whatever he wants, so he will continue to play with people’s lives.
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