Speak Your Piece: Don’t let the DOGE out

I decided to take up the subject of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) on my daily Speak Your Piece show on WBCB. 

I cannot figure out why there’s been an unrelenting attack on Elon Musk and DOGE, since they went public on what was discovered while raking through the great, federal bureaucracy searching for waste, fraud, and abuse.  

First, let’s start with the Wikipedia definition of DOGE: “The Department of Government Efficiency is an initiative by the second Trump administration within the federal government of the United States. Its stated objective is to modernize information technology, maximize productivity and efficiency, and cut wasteful spending.”

It seems like a commonsense approach that could be applied to any business or household, especially the efficiency/waste-cutting/money-management part.  

But when Musk and the DOGE team took on the federal government bureaucracy, the liberal spin machine fought back. And a range of naysayers in the press, politics, and the bureaucracy itself signed on and went after DOGE and the once revered Musk. Misleading, false information and commentary directed at Musk was soon accompanied by violence toward his livelihood and his famed electric vehicles, as dealerships and vehicles were firebombed and otherwise vandalized in a range of dangerous, crazy attacks. 

Commonsense people were not buying the charges against DOGE and Musk; they were repulsed by the viciousness of the attacks. After all, why would you want to stop a team that found extraordinary amounts of waste and abuse? Why would anyone oppose streamlining the federal government? 

Now Musk has left Washington, as planned, but will be “back and forth,” he said. And hopefully DOGE will be there, at least for the next four years. Still, I’m amazed at the furor that erupted over streamlining the bloated government. That needs more investigation since it makes no sense. 

In response to a reporter’s question, Musk reiterated his aim with DOGE was to simply put an end to the mammoth bureaucracy, save the taxpayers money and reduce the national debt. The anger directed at him comes from big government people who don’t like what he’s doing, he explained, because they think the government should do more.   It’s that simple.

Let’s hope the DOGE team stays on its mission and impresses us even more, by cutting waste, fraud, and abuse, and reducing the size of the government. Just go to doge.gov and follow the agency’s progress in real time.  

Pat Wandling hosts Speak Your Piece from which this commentary is adapted, weekdays at noon on WBCB 1490.