New Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)

[LevelUP]

Trump taps Musk to lead a 'Department of Government Efficiency' with Ramaswamy
https://www.npr.org/2024/11/12/g-s1-3397...deep-state

According to Pew Research, there has been a massive increase in the percentage of people who support reducing the budget deficit.

Democrats
29% in 2021
44% in 2023

Independents
42% in 2021
57% in 2023

Republicans
54% in 2021
71% in 2023

https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...e-deficit/

Any plan is better than no plan, and right now, there’s no plan to balance the budget.

[LevelUP]

Fortunately they need 60 votes for that to happen. With 53 Republicans, they'll be short by at least 7 votes. I just don't see any Democrats voting in favor.

I agree that a president can't eliminate a branch of government through executive order or by declaring an emergency. However, there is the reconciliation bill process, which requires only 50 votes in the Senate.

Here are some key rules for reconciliation bills:

1. Discretionary Spending: Reconciliation can include changes to discretionary spending, such as the Department of Education and military spending.
   
   
2. No Mandatory Program Cuts: Spending cuts to mandatory programs like Medicare or Social Security are not allowed.
   
   
3. Byrd Rule Compliance: Provisions must adhere to the Byrd Rule, which prohibits extraneous measures and ensures the bill does not increase the deficit beyond 10 years.
   

The dirty secret in politics is that both parties exploit reconciliation bills to pass tax cuts or spending increases with little regard for balancing the budget. As long as these tax cuts or spending hikes expire before 10 years, it’s considered legal—a loophole in the process. The cycle continues: let the debt explode, raise the ceiling, and repeat under every president.

I don’t see anyone in Congress with a real plan to balance the budget. Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy seem to be brainstorming ideas with DOGE.

To balance the budget, you either raise taxes or cut spending—it’s simple math. If you do neither, you hope the economy grows enough in the future to stabilize things, but that comes with the risk of inflation and, eventually, the collapse of the U.S. dollar, as seen in countries that have printed money recklessly for years.

In my opinion, the solution is to raise taxes by half and cut spending by half. The fairest way to raise taxes is probably through the payroll tax, increasing it by 2% to balance spending for Social Security and Medicare. (Employers would pay 2%, and workers would pay 2%.)  Also, the top individual tax rate should be raised back to 39.6%.

On the spending side:

• Cut military spending by $150 billion (a hard sell for Neocons).
  
  
• Cut all other discretionary spending by 10% across the board or freeze spending for several years.
  

However, it’s unlikely Republicans would support a reconciliation bill that only includes tax increases and spending cuts. They’ll want tax cuts as well, no matter the consequences.

[Ares]

Nah, you just need to cut spending across the board. You could probably cut the Federal government by 50% and most people would not even notice. The government is worse than Twitter where Musk cut jobs by 80% and it is functioning better than before. I have worked for the government for a year and 90% of the people I worked with were not needed.

Raising taxes is always a bad idea.

[LevelUP]

Nah, you just need to cut spending across the board. You could probably cut the Federal government by 50% and most people would not even notice. The government is worse than Twitter where Musk cut jobs by 80% and it is functioning better than before. I have worked for the government for a year and 90% of the people I worked with were not needed.

Raising taxes is always a bad idea.

Somehow, the numbers need to add up.

Here's a question for everyone: What is the total national debt? Sure, you can Google it, but think about it—what does it really represent? Did you know the Federal Reserve owns a portion of the national debt through Treasury bills they’ve purchased? Also, not all student loans count as national debt since they need to be repaid.

[Ares]

I agree the numbers need to add up so cut away.

Downsizing the Federal Government

[LevelUP]

I agree the numbers need to add up so cut away.

Downsizing the Federal Government

Here are most of the tax cut proposals we know so far:

• Extension of TCJA Provisions  (previous tax cuts from 2017)
  
• Exempting Tips from Taxation
  
• No Tax on Overtime Pay
  
• Exempting Social Security Benefits
  
• Lower Corporate Tax Rate (15% from 21%)
  
• Deduction for Auto Loan Interest
  
  

We might see higher tariffs used to help pay for some of these tax cuts, though they won’t come close to covering the full cost. If spending cuts or other tax increases don’t offset the tax cuts, the changes will likely be temporary, expiring in about eight years—just like before.

Musk and Ramaswamy say DOGE will target $500 billion in spending. Here's where they say they'll cut.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/musk-ramasw...-will-cut/

Cutting all the new programs added during 2020–2021 would significantly help curb spending. However, it’s not feasible to cut $2 trillion in yearly spending solely through the reconciliation process.

[NotJoeBiden]

Nah, you just need to cut spending across the board. You could probably cut the Federal government by 50% and most people would not even notice. The government is worse than Twitter where Musk cut jobs by 80% and it is functioning better than before.

Twitter’s value has dropped 80% since Elon took over. It is now a bot-driven cesspool.

I have worked for the government for a year and 90% of the people I worked with were not needed.

This sounds like a self report.

Raising taxes is always a bad idea.

Trump’s tariffs will effectively be a sales tax that consumers have to pay.

---

I agree the numbers need to add up so cut away.

Downsizing the Federal Government

Here are most of the tax cut proposals we know so far:

• Extension of TCJA Provisions  (previous tax cuts from 2017)
  
• Exempting Tips from Taxation
  
• No Tax on Overtime Pay
  
• Exempting Social Security Benefits
  
• Lower Corporate Tax Rate (15% from 21%)
  
• Deduction for Auto Loan Interest
  
  

We might see higher tariffs used to help pay for some of these tax cuts, though they won’t come close to covering the full cost. If spending cuts or other tax increases don’t offset the tax cuts, the changes will likely be temporary, expiring in about eight years—just like before.

Musk and Ramaswamy say DOGE will target $500 billion in spending. Here's where they say they'll cut.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/musk-ramasw...-will-cut/

Cutting all the new programs added during 2020–2021 would significantly help curb spending. However, it’s not feasible to cut $2 billion in yearly spending solely through the reconciliation process.

Tariffs will effectively be a regressive tax to fund these tax cuts. Trump has shown he has no problem driving record high deficits like he did in 2020. He doesn’t care about balancing the budget, and so far he clearly has no plan to do so as you point out. DOGE isn’t going to make a dent.

Also, does it not seem inefficient to spend tax dollars to create a brand new government department redundant to the Government Accountability Office and then hire 2 people to run it?

[Ares]

Twitter still has 611 million users and the platform is working better than ever. Just like spam emails, dealing with bots is simple on X, just follow reputable accounts.

Tariffs can be used for negotiating leverage and only become a sales tax if they are across the board on everything. If they are country specific that will just move production outside the country targeted. So say you put a tariff on a good made in China, the good can then be manufactured elsewhere without the tariff, so say Vietnam.

I like all the hypocrites coming out of the wood work to complain about tariffs when they never said a word when Obama did it.

At least I can say I was against all tariffs, all the time.

I am hoping DOGE will cut trillions and keep cutting but I am a realist.

[LevelUP]

Tariffs are essentially a tax, but they can be highly effective in promoting "America First" policies. For example, the tariffs implemented during the Trump administration have been retained by President Biden, and most Americans barely notice their impact. Can you name a product you've purchased from Amazon where you could clearly identify a tariff? Likely not, yet these measures influence trade and manufacturing in significant ways.

One clear success story of tariffs is the automotive industry. Without the 25% tariff on truck imports, U.S. car manufacturing might have been entirely destroyed. This policy has played a crucial role in keeping American manufacturing alive, despite global competition.

Switching gears, the value of social media platforms like Twitter (now X) is often hard to measure until capital is raised. However, we do know that Elon Musk’s startup, xAI, is now reportedly valued at over $50 billion—surpassing the amount Musk paid for Twitter. Notably, xAI boasts more computing power than ChatGPT, even though ChatGPT itself is valued at an impressive $150 billion.
https://archive.vn/MQdz9#selection-1685.0-1685.95

Meanwhile, Elon Musk’s total net worth continues to climb, now exceeding $340 billion, a testament to his diverse ventures and success.
https://archive.vn/2YyW6

As a user of X, I’ve noticed it works better than ever. One notable improvement is how X no longer promotes posts containing external links, effectively reducing the spam that used to plague the platform. This change has made for a cleaner and more enjoyable user experience.

On a political note, any significant change, such as introducing a new economic or monetary policy, requires a solid plan and political will. For instance, DOGE was created partly because Congress has struggled to produce viable financial plans. To achieve meaningful change, there must first be a well-constructed proposal, followed by the necessary political pressure to force a vote. This process is far from easy, but it’s essential for progress.

[Ares]

Tariffs are essentially a tax, but they can be highly effective in promoting "America First" policies. For example, the tariffs implemented during the Trump administration have been retained by President Biden, and most Americans barely notice their impact. Can you name a product you've purchased from Amazon where you could clearly identify a tariff? Likely not, yet these measures influence trade and manufacturing in significant ways.

One clear success story of tariffs is the automotive industry. Without the 25% tariff on truck imports, U.S. car manufacturing might have been entirely destroyed. This policy has played a crucial role in keeping American manufacturing alive, despite global competition.

Yes tariffs are technically a tax but like I said it depends on how they are implemented. If they are country specific that will simply cause those goods to be manufactured in another country and the "tax" goes away as soon as that is done.

I do not believe protecting the bad labor and tax policies that made American automotive production uncompetitive was a good thing. Instead they should have removed all regulations, laws protecting labor unions and lowered taxes until American automakers could have been competitive on their own. Democratic laws, policies, regulations and taxes destroy everything they touch.