Tad DeHaven
Tad DeHaven
A 2011 poll taken during the Obama administration found that 60 percent of those surveyed believed that the federal budget could be balanced by simply eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse. Half said Social Security and Medicare aren’t a problem for the budget.
Those respondents were wrong.
If that survey were conducted today, the results would probably be about the same. And if Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) isn’t more careful, these myths could become further ingrained in the public’s mind.
Waste (a subjective term) and fraud are natural by-products of government spending. The federal government will spend approximately $7 trillion this year, with a budget deficit of almost $2 trillion. Spending on Social Security old-age and survivor benefits will be around $1.4 trillion, and net spending for Medicare will be close to $1 trillion. Put out a giant strobe light, and moths, bugs, and other undesirables will flock to it.
That’s not to suggest that waste and fraud aren’t issues to be addressed. They are. Indeed, the Government Accountability Office and the government’s inspector generals have been investigating and reporting on it for decades. (Curiously, Trump fired 17 inspectors general shortly after taking office because “They’re not my people.” Well, they’re not supposed to be. They’re supposed to maintain independence—that’s the point.)
DOGE’s ultimate aims remain unclear. Perhaps that’s an intentional strategy, or perhaps it’s because the team is freshly tackling a financial operation equal to almost a quarter of the nation’s economic output. If it’s more the latter, the learning curve DOGE faces is as steep as Yosemite National Park’s El Capitan. That’s why Cato submitted to DOGE a report on how to downsize and reform the federal government. That’s why our Downsizing the Federal Government website exists. Other knowledgeable experts and organizations have done the same. » Read More
https://www.cato.org/blog/doge-waste-fraud-abuse