View Full Version : Department of Government Efficiency
iris lilies
11-19-24, 11:34am
The DOGE will be headed by Elon Musk and V. Ramaswamy.
Does anyone see the foolishness of creating a department of government efficiency with its own bureaucracy and roster of employees for the purpose of shutting down bureaucracies and rosters of employees?
Why haven’t I seen this pilloried in the Babylon Bee?
this is when I wish I had Rand Paul’s ear to see what he privately thinks about it. If anyone should be on any sort of advisory committee for DOGE, it should be Rand.
ToomuchStuff
11-19-24, 11:36am
Sounds like a coin.
catherine
11-19-24, 12:34pm
Maybe the Ministry of Silly Walks will be next
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCLp7zodUiI
Most federal agencies have an office of the inspector general. There are also any number of executive and legislative audit agencies. I don’t see much usefulness of some new efficiency czar except for showy scalp-hunting. On the other hand, anything that disturbs the complacency of the federal bureaucracy has some utility.
frugal-one
11-20-24, 4:20pm
Interesting to call him a czar. No one in this country is/has been called that. Trying to tell us something? Ha!
Interesting to call him a czar. No one in this country is/has been called that. Trying to tell us something? Ha!
It's not an official title in the US government but is a fairly accurate description of positions responsible for specific tasks. FDR tasked many government insiders to act as the czar of numerous initiatives during WWII and every president afterwards has done the same. I think there were 25 to 30 czars appointed during the Obama administration.
This is definitely not something new.
This is definitely not something new.
I remember Nixon appointing a Drug Czar when I was a kid. Jerome Jaffe. If I recall, he was the creator of the innovative "war on drugs" strategy of redefining some of the metrics so that you could do an apples-to-oranges comparison and claim victory. Inspired me to become a statistician.
iris lilies
11-20-24, 5:26pm
Interesting to call him a czar. No one in this country is/has been called that. Trying to tell us something? Ha!
No one in this country has been called that? Are you kidding?
one article that lazy Googling served up to me shows how many special appointments of Presidents over the years have earned the slang name “Czar.” if you just Google it, you will find many instances of White House appointed “CZAR.”
this Time article claims that those special offices are not very effective because they don’t have budget or real authority.
“https://time.com/3516927/history-of-white-house-czars/
The Wikki lists some names popularly referred to as Czar
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._executive_branch_czars
Geez, even Kamala Harris was known as Biden’s “Border Czar.”
Interesting to call him a czar. No one in this country is/has been called that. Trying to tell us something? Ha!
Just watch out for Cossacks tovarisch.
frugal-one
11-20-24, 8:23pm
No one in this country has been called that? Are you kidding?
one article that lazy Googling served up to me shows how many special appointments of Presidents over the years have earned the slang name “Czar.” if you just Google it, you will find many instances of White House appointed “CZAR.”
this Time article claims that those special offices are not very effective because they don’t have budget or real authority.
“https://time.com/3516927/history-of-white-house-czars/
The Wikki lists some names popularly referred to as Czar
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._executive_branch_czars
Geez, even Kamala Harris was known as Biden’s “Border Czar.”
So did you know this before googling? I doubt it. I never heard the term before for a US government official. I have never really had much of an interest in politics until the current whack job, president elect. His disgusting �� personality and political agenda has made him impossible to ignore. I am going to miss Biden, if for no other reason, because of his lack of daily chaos. I try to not pay attention but DH continues to fill me in on the stupidity even though he knows it upsets me. I will be happy when buffoon trump is gone… unfortunately it won’t be soon.
So did you know this before googling? I doubt not.
I have heard people refer to US governmental "Czars" since I was a boy. And I don't even pay particularly close attention to the news.
iris lilies
11-20-24, 8:38pm
I have heard people refer to US governmental "Czars" since I was a boy. And I don't even pay particularly close attention to the news.
…and since I was a girl, haha. Well for some decades anyway.
But that is great for frugal-one to learn a new word.
frugal-one
11-20-24, 8:41pm
Just watch out for Cossacks tovarisch.
We may be learning Russian soon….
frugal-one
11-20-24, 8:42pm
…and since I was a girl, haha. Well for some decades anyway.
But that is great for frugal-one to learn a new word.
I have no qualms admitting it is new to me. Thanks Alan.
We may be learning Russian soon….
It is a bit of a pain of a language. I wouldn't worry about it too much, turns out most educated Russians speak better English than we do.
We may be learning Russian soon….
They spell it differently; tsar
I have no qualms admitting it is new to me. Thanks
So, we've spent the past 4 years referring to Kamala Harris as the Border Czar after President Biden anointed her as such, did you think that was something Republicans made up?
So, we've spent the past 4 years referring to Kamala Harris as the Border Czar after President Biden anointed her as such, did you think that was something Republicans made up?
Was Harris in fact "anointed" as the Border Czar?
Was Harris in fact "anointed" as the Border Czar?
LOL, I would think not literally, although old Joe is rumored to enjoy a few peccadilloes.
iris lilies
11-20-24, 9:33pm
Was Harris in fact "anointed" as the Border Czar?
There is a whole long clip of liberal news media folks talking about how she was never the “border czar” but was in charge of ?some? policy concerning the border or certainly had responsibility for investigating the situation south of our border to understand and identifytsolutions.
I think President Biden threw her under the bus on that one, giving her something that she couldn’t make much inroads on with the limited authority and zero budget that she has. The old man did her dirty a few times and that was one of them.
frugal-one
11-20-24, 11:39pm
They spell it differently; tsar
So, we've spent the past 4 years referring to Kamala Harris as the Border Czar after President Biden anointed her as such, did you think that was something Republicans made up?
Thought it was “projecting” by republicans... and Biden never anointed her as such…
iris lilies
11-21-24, 1:34pm
Thought it was “projecting” by republicans... and Biden never anointed her as such…
President Biden gave Harris responsibility for issues affecting our Southern Border. “Border Czar” is slang term for that responsibility. Do you deny Harris had responsibility in this area?
Biden said in March 2021:
“…I’ve asked her, the VP, today — because she’s the most qualified person to do it — to lead our efforts with Mexico and the Northern Triangle and the countries that help — are going to need help in stemming the movement of so many folks, stemming the migration to our southern border.”
He went on to give more details of his expectations for her in this capacity.
frugal-one
11-21-24, 6:42pm
To be truthful, I find much of the border issue blown out of proportion based on what I see when I cross the border. The news today keeps going on about ONE illegal who murdered a young female runner. This is an anomaly because if you think about it… if someone is here illegally they are going to try to stay on the right side of the law and try to blend in and not draw attention to themselves. There was a bipartisan package put together to deal with the border issue. trump put the kibash on it so he would have something to use as an issue in the campaign.
I guess he is the new Willie Horton.
The WSJ had an opinion piece yesterday by Elon and Ramswamy themselves. A friend forwarded it to me as I can't get past their paywall, but maybe some here can read it. It basically said all the departments and regulations were not created by politicians we have voted for and they know better. With Trump's executive power they plan to eliminated where needed. That was unspecified but they did refer to a couple of environmental regulations giving them power, like the Chevron ruling. It got me thinking about the endangered species act and drill baby drill. One of the reader's comments was, with Elon who needs congress.
Along those lines in a separate article it seems like a new department will be created to get rid of the old departments, and a sub committee with Marjory Taylor Green as chair person.
"Representative James Comer of Kentucky, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, is planning to create a new subcommittee to partner with Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to “eliminate government waste.” The committee, which has yet to be created, will work with the new Department of Government Efficiency, known as “DOGE,” and leading Republicans have agreed to allow Ms. Greene to serve as its chairwoman.
Even though she is not yet the chairwoman of a committee that does not yet exist, Ms. Greene’s new position appeared to be a done deal, with top Republicans confirming it would be hers to lead when the new Congress convenes in January."
catherine
11-22-24, 8:02am
The WSJ had an opinion piece yesterday by Elon and Ramswamy themselves. A friend forwarded it to me as I can't get past their paywall, but maybe some here can read it. It basically said all the departments and regulations were not created by politicians we have voted for and they know better. With Trump's executive power they plan to eliminated where needed. That was unspecified but they did refer to a couple of environmental regulations giving them power, like the Chevron ruling. It got me thinking about the endangered species act and drill baby drill. One of the reader's comments was, with Elon who needs congress.
Along those lines in a separate article it seems like a new department will be created to get rid of the old departments, and a sub committee with Marjory Taylor Green as chair person.
"Representative James Comer of Kentucky, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, is planning to create a new subcommittee to partner with Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to “eliminate government waste.” The committee, which has yet to be created, will work with the new Department of Government Efficiency, known as “DOGE,” and leading Republicans have agreed to allow Ms. Greene to serve as its chairwoman.
Even though she is not yet the chairwoman of a committee that does not yet exist, Ms. Greene’s new position appeared to be a done deal, with top Republicans confirming it would be hers to lead when the new Congress convenes in January."
This is as much as I could cut and paste without exceeding the character limit of the platform.
Our nation was founded on the basic idea that the people we elect run the government. That isn’t how America functions today. Most legal edicts aren’t laws enacted by Congress but “rules and regulations” promulgated by unelected bureaucrats—tens of thousands of them each year. Most government enforcement decisions and discretionary expenditures aren’t made by the democratically elected president or even his political appointees but by millions of unelected, unappointed civil servants within government agencies who view themselves as immune from firing thanks to civil-service protections.
This is antidemocratic and antithetical to the Founders’ vision. It imposes massive direct and indirect costs on taxpayers. Thankfully, we have a historic opportunity to solve the problem. On Nov. 5, voters decisively elected Donald Trump with a mandate for sweeping change, and they deserve to get it. President Trump has asked the two of us to lead a newly formed Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, to cut the federal government down to size. The entrenched and ever-growing bureaucracy represents an existential threat to our republic, and politicians have abetted it for too long. That’s why we’re doing things differently. We are entrepreneurs, not politicians. We will serve as outside volunteers, not federal officials or employees. Unlike government commissions or advisory committees, we won’t just write reports or cut ribbons. We’ll cut costs.
We are assisting the Trump transition team to identify and hire a lean team of small-government crusaders, including some of the sharpest technical and legal minds in America. This team will work in the new administration closely with the White House Office of Management and Budget. The two of us will advise DOGE at every step to pursue three major kinds of reform: regulatory rescissions, administrative reductions and cost savings. We will focus particularly on driving change through executive action based on existing legislation rather than by passing new laws. Our North Star for reform will be the U.S. Constitution, with a focus on two critical Supreme Court rulings issued during President Biden’s tenure.
In West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency (2022), the justices held that agencies can’t impose regulations dealing with major economic or policy questions unless Congress specifically authorizes them to do so. In Loper Bright v. Raimondo (2024), the court overturned the Chevron doctrine and held that federal courts should no longer defer to federal agencies’ interpretations of the law or their own rulemaking authority. Together, these cases suggest that a plethora of current federal regulations exceed the authority Congress has granted under the law.
DOGE will work with legal experts embedded in government agencies, aided by advanced technology, to apply these rulings to federal regulations enacted by such agencies. DOGE will present this list of regulations to President Trump, who can, by executive action, immediately pause the enforcement of those regulations and initiate the process for review and rescission. This would liberate individuals and businesses from illicit regulations never passed by Congress and stimulate the U.S. economy.
....
This is antidemocratic and antithetical to the Founders’ vision. It imposes massive direct and indirect costs on taxpayers. Thankfully, we have a historic opportunity to solve the problem. On Nov. 5, voters decisively elected Donald Trump with a mandate for sweeping change, and they deserve to get it.
President Trump has asked the two of us to lead a newly formed Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, to cut the federal government down to size. The entrenched and ever-growing bureaucracy represents an existential threat to our republic, and politicians have abetted it for too long. That’s why we’re doing things differently. We are entrepreneurs, not politicians. We will serve as outside volunteers, not federal officials or employees. Unlike government commissions or advisory committees, we won’t just write reports or cut ribbons. We’ll cut costs.
We are assisting the Trump transition team to identify and hire a lean team of small-government crusaders, including some of the sharpest technical and legal minds in America. This team will work in the new administration closely with the White House Office of Management and Budget. The two of us will advise DOGE at every step to pursue three major kinds of reform: regulatory rescissions, administrative reductions and cost savings. We will focus particularly on driving change through executive action based on existing legislation rather than by passing new laws. Our North Star for reform will be the U.S. Constitution, with a focus on two critical Supreme Court rulings issued during President Biden’s tenure.
In West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency (2022), the justices held that agencies can’t impose regulations dealing with major economic or policy questions unless Congress specifically authorizes them to do so. In Loper Bright v. Raimondo (2024), the court overturned the Chevron doctrine and held that federal courts should no longer defer to federal agencies’ interpretations of the law or their own rulemaking authority. Together, these cases suggest that a plethora of current federal regulations exceed the authority Congress has granted under the law.
......
A drastic reduction in federal regulations provides sound industrial logic for mass head-count reductions across the federal bureaucracy. DOGE intends to work with embedded appointees in agencies to identify the minimum number of employees required at an agency for it to perform its constitutionally permissible and statutorily mandated functions. The number of federal employees to cut should be at least proportionate to the number of federal regulations that are nullified: Not only are fewer employees required to enforce fewer regulations, but the agency would produce fewer regulations once its scope of authority is properly limited. Employees whose positions are eliminated deserve to be treated with respect, and DOGE’s goal is to help support their transition into the private sector. The president can use existing laws to give them incentives for early retirement and to make voluntary severance payments to facilitate a graceful exit.
....
Mr. Trump can implement any number of “rules governing the competitive service” that would curtail administrative overgrowth, from large-scale firings to relocation of federal agencies out of the Washington area. Requiring federal employees to come to the office five days a week would result in a wave of voluntary terminations that we welcome: If federal employees don’t want to show up, American taxpayers shouldn’t pay them for the Covid-era privilege of staying home.
etc.
frugal-one
11-22-24, 3:56pm
Couldn’t read all the bulls—t! We are doomed.
Couldn’t read all the bulls—t! We are doomed.
Some things are too complicated to fit on a bumper sticker.
https://images.seattletimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Tesla-ONLINE-COLOR.jpg?d=780x520
catherine
11-22-24, 9:41pm
That's funny, Alan!!
ToomuchStuff
11-22-24, 11:19pm
https://images.seattletimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Tesla-ONLINE-COLOR.jpg?d=780x520
Alyssa Milano?
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