Monthly Archives: March 2025

Straight Talk About Government Efficiency

We can only speculate about the real motives prompting Trump/Musk to take a hatchet to the federal government. That motive is clearly not efficiency–indeed, in any logical world, it would be universally seen as insane, as would the betrayal of Ukraine, which undermines America’s global interests. (That betrayal is more than likely prompted by Trump’s continuing anger over Zelensky’s prior refusal to be blackmailed into accusing Joe Biden of invented crimes. Trump holds grudges.)

As I’ve watched Musk’s illegal DOGE wreak havoc with the federal government and put millions of Americans at risk, I revisited an article from Governing published just before that “department” began it’s slash and burn operations. The author,  who had participated in several state-level efforts to root out “fraud and waste,” noted that there are proper–and improper– ways to go about that task.

Before sharing the persuasive insights of that article, however, I want to point to a truly foundational issue–one that has become far more evident as DOGE continues its destructive path through our federal government. Most Americans reject what we now understand to be Musk’s definition of “fraud and waste.” Anyone who thinks that Social Security is a “Ponzi scheme” is clearly incapable of providing an evidence-based definition of either fraud or waste. (Evidently, to Musk, if a government program benefits millions of Americans–or if an agency’s operations interfere with the ability of Musk’s businesses to rip off taxpayers–that function is wasteful, if not fraudulent…)

The linked article begins by agreeing that efforts to streamline government and root out inefficiencies are always appropriate. It then points to some pesky facts about federal expenditures–facts that should guide any legitimate efforts.

Musk and Ramaswamy have promised a 30 percent cut in the federal government. Roughly 60 percent or so of federal spending, however, consists of interest payments on the national debt, Social Security, Medicare and national defense — largely (though not entirely) untouchable. The projected savings therefore purport to come mostly from wiping out everything else: cutting government regulation, eliminating large numbers of government programs and firing even larger numbers of employees.

Gutting regulation does little to reduce government spending, however, while employee compensation makes up only 4 percent of the federal budget. Firing every single federal employee would barely make a ripple. Whatever the merits of all this as policy, in reality it has little to do with efficiency.

In fact, in many ways, the proposed DOGE approach illustrates how not to pursue actual efficiency in government.

The author then suggests realistic ways to make government more efficient.

Be honest and realistic. Thirty years ago, the massive National Performance Review produced recommendations shaving nearly 7 percent off federal operations… it’s possible to reduce spending by as much as 10 percent annually — although not without severe political repercussions.

The “annually recurring” part is important. It’s easy to fake savings through accounting gimmicks and one-time asset sales. Sure, you can close a budget hole by raiding dedicated funds, postponing needed infrastructure repairs or construction, or even doing a sale-leaseback of the state capitol…  Real, meaningful “efficiency” recurs year after year. In fact, so should the search for efficiency.

It would be easy to cut government spending by 30 percent by eliminating all health and welfare spending. That may be the goal under DOGE. Unfortunately, about six months later, emergency rooms will be crammed, hospital systems will be incurring massive debts through charity care, workforce productivity will plummet, and communicable diseases will proliferate. Cutting just to cut generally costs more in the long term.

 Very little government spending consists of actual fraud and abuse, and less still by beneficiaries filing claims for, say, medical care they never received. It is mostly committed, rather, by providers seeking reimbursements for care they never delivered, or by big-dollar private contractors (particularly in defense: know anyone who fits that description?).

Sometimes, spending saves money. That may sound counterintuitive, but you wouldn’t fire your accounts receivable department, would you? Hiring more revenue collectors is good “business,” even in government.

The author noted that the best way to save money is by improving service delivery, not performative gestures like slashing huge programs. Cutting inefficiency doesn’t require attacking the people who carry out the processes — it requires streamlining the processes themselves.

And rather than firing staff, if we really wanted to find ways to eliminate waste and inefficiency, we would ask the people who work for government–because those are the folks who actually know. “That’s how leaders, public or private, proceed if they’re serious about making their operations work better.”

But of course, making government work better is the farthest thing from Trump/Musk’s mind. They just want it to work better for them.

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When People Have No Idea what They’re Doing

Simon Rosenberg recently explained what even minimally-informed people know: mass deportation–if it occurs– will raise prices for Americans, disrupt businesses and slow growth. (Of course, growth is already tanking as a result of Trump’s on-and-off tariffs. When even the Wall Street Journal calls a GOP economic policy “stupid,” you can pretty much assume widespread agreement among people who can spell “economics.”) Rosenberg noted that even the threat of deportations is having its effect; victims of crime and witnesses aren’t showing up for court dates because they are afraid ICE will seize them. “That means cases can’t be prosecuted and that means criminals stay free to commit more crimes. Party of law and order my sweet Aunt Annie.”

Speaking of “law and order,” there are reports that the administration is considering a pardon for Derek Chauvin, who killed George Floyd on camera. Such a pardon would be further evidence of the GOP effort to return the U.S. to the days of Jim Crow.

Let’s be candid. The daily havoc being applauded by Trump supporters demonstrates the profound ignorance of the MAGA cult–as does their rejection of expertise as “elitist,” and their inability to recognize the all-too-obvious effects of Trump/Musk actions.

Research confirms that the polarization that characterizes our politics is largely between the informed and uninformed. (For confirmation, you can review the occasional comment from trolls on this blog.) 

The monumental ignorance shown by those cheering Trump and Vance’s thuggish behavior toward Ukraine is a perfect example. In a recent post to The Bulwark, Jonathan Last wrote.

Donald Trump and Republicans explain their worldview by calling it “America First.” That’s a lie.

American foreign policy has always put America first. That’s what nations do. It’s axiomatic. Why did the United States do Lend-Lease with Britain before we entered World War II and bankroll the Marshall Plan afterwards? Why did we airlift supplies into West Berlin? Why did we spend trillions of dollars on nuclear weapons that have never been used? Why do we police the global shipping lanes and ensure stability in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East?

It’s not because we’re nice.

It’s because these actions further our interests. They make America safer and wealthier. They check the rise of rival powers. They put America first.

I urge you to read Last’s entire essay–especially his explanation of “Pax America.”  As he writes, for 75 years after the Second World War, the U.S. was the dominant global power. No country, anywhere on earth, could act without considering our interests.

The relationships in NATO, and among the Five Eyes, and with America’s other really close allies—Japan, South Korea—aren’t merely military agreements. They’re kinships. They transcend peace and war; they’re diplomatic, political, cultural, and economic.

Again: This is leverage. It means that when we go to war, we bring a huge crew with us. Other countries are willing to expend resources, and even shed blood, to stay aligned with us. Even for a contentious war like Iraq, we got nearly 40 countries to participate in some way or another.

This makes things cheaper for us. The Soviet Union and China and Iran have to spend money to dominate and subjugate their clients. Our allies spend money on our behalf, pursuing our interests, because we have shaped them in our image.

As Last writes, no country has ever been more globally dominant–and that dominance has largely been a function of our wealth–our ability to spend money.

Here is the thing you must understand: America will win any contest determined by the ability to spend money.

Rightly understood, this is just another example of how America created rules to benefit ourselves: Of course the richest country in history would build a system in which it could exert influence on the global order by spending money: Because the ability to spend money is one of our key advantages.

And yet today’s “America First” class thinks that spending money in order to shape the world is some kind of weakness…

Why do we spend $10 billion a year fighting HIV/AIDS in foreign countries? I have to keep saying this: It’s not because we’re nice.

We spend that money in order to stabilize the global order. If AIDS runs wild in one country, that creates ripple effects. It destabilizes the local economy, risking political instability, which in turn risks regional instability. All of which poses some small danger to the established order which—QED—benefits America.

We spend that $10 billion to preserve the system that benefits us.

That’s what soft power is.

When people in charge are clueless about how the world works, the world no longer works for us. Thanks, MAGA….

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Good-By To The Constitution

As some of you may have noticed, I’ve been providing “Constitutional Minutes” to Women4Change; for the past few weeks, I’ve been sending a brief description of a constitutional provision, and an explanation of how Trump is violating it, to the organization for posting on its webpage. It occurs to me that I should share a couple of those explanations here, in support of my assertion that we are in the midst of a grand-daddy of a Constitutional crisis.

Let’s look, for example, at Trump’s attack on birthright citizenship.

Section One of the 14th Amendment reads as follows: All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Trump’s Executive Order, in pertinent part, reads: It is the policy of the United States that no department or agency of the United States government shall issue documents recognizing United States citizenship, or accept documents issued by State, local, or other governments or authorities purporting to recognize United States citizenship, to persons:  (1) when that person’s mother was unlawfully present in the United States and the person’s father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person’s birth, or (2) when that person’s mother’s presence in the United States was lawful but temporary, and the person’s father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person’s birth.

The law is clear. A president cannot repeal part of the Constitution by executive order. Congress cannot repeal a Constitutional provision by passing a new law. Amending the Constitution requires a two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate, and subsequent ratification by three-quarters of the states.

Or let’s look at Elon Musk’s rampage through the federal government.

In our constitutional system, power comes from We the People. Only officials selected through constitutional methods may wield power in our name. Past Supreme Court cases have make it clear that individuals who serve in “continuing” positions and who exercise “significant authority” on behalf of the United States must be appointed consistent with Article II’s  Appointments Clause. That clause sets forth two methods to appoint “officers of the United States.” “Principal” officers must be nominated by the president and are subject to the advice and consent of the Senate.

With respect to “inferior officers,” the Constitution allows Congress to give the appointment power to the president, to the head of a department, or to the courts. However, inferior officers must be subject to the supervision of someone other than the president. Those who report directly to the president are by definition principal officers.

The Appointments Clause subjects individuals wielding significant authority — principal officers —   to Senate confirmation. Elon Musk is clearly wielding significant power (as evidenced by growing references to him as a “co-President.”) His activities through DOGE—a “department” that does not exist—are wreaking constant havoc with the operations of critical government agencies, threatening everything from FEMA’s responses to South Carolina’s fires to the timely delivery of Social Security checks.

There are at least two pending lawsuits alleging that Musk’s power cannot be squared with the Appointments Clause—that to exercise the authority he is exercising, he must be appointed as provided by the Constitution. (One such case, in Maryland, was filed by current and former federal employees and contractors; another, in Washington, D.C., was brought by a number of states.) The judge in the Maryland case said that he was “highly suspicious” of the administration’s (phony) explanation for Musk’s role. The judge in the Washington case has found that  Musk has “rapidly taken steps to fundamentally reshape the executive branch,” with no apparent “source of legal authority” and that his actions appear to describe “precisely the ‘executive abuses’ that the Appointments Clause seeks to prevent.”

Over the past few weeks, I’ve identified several other obvious and egregious violations of America’s founding charter. There are numerous lawsuits pending, and growing public anger, but there is no guarantee that Trump will obey the courts, and thus far, no indications that Congressional Republicans will locate their spines.

Meanwhile, Trump and Musk are busy destroying the federal government’s ability to operate domestically, and betraying our allies abroad.

As the saying goes, we aren’t in Kansas anymore….

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The Evidence Mounts

Remember The Manchurian Candidate? The story centers on a Korean War veteran who is part of a prominent political family. He’s brainwashed by communists after his Army platoon is captured, and when he returns home, he becomes an unwitting assassin in an international communist conspiracy. 

I’m beginning to see uncomfortable parallels with that fictional plot.

I’m loathe to give credence to the longstanding assertion that Trump is a knowing Russian asset–after all, it’s improbable that this pathetic bundle of ego and ignorance is a “knowing” anything. A recent article from the Kviv Independent does make that case, however, the author writing

Questions about U.S. President Donald Trump’s possibly shady relationship with Russia and the country’s security services have long swirled, even culminating in a special counsel investigation during his first term in office.

Though that investigation found evidence of “extensive criminal activity” by Trump, his associates, and some of his family members, it found no evidence that he was working for, or had ever been recruited by, Russia’s security services.

Yet despite this, the topic refuses to go away — most recently in a viral Facebook post from a former Kazakh security official that claimed Trump was recruited by the Soviet Union’s spy agency, the KGB, in 1987 and given the code name “Krasnov.”

Craig Unger, an American journalist and writer who has written two books on Trump’s connections to Russia’s security services and the Russian mafia stretching all the way back to the 1980s, says he is “absolutely certain” that the U.S. president is a Russian asset.

You can click through and read Unger’s arguments, but just as the central figure in the Manchurian Candidate was unaware of his brainwashing, I think it unlikely that Trump is consciously pursuing his pro-Russian, pro-Putin, anti-American rampage.

That, of course, doesn’t make his actions any less destructive. And it does raise a question about the operatives he is installing in various agencies of the federal government. Among the clowns, predators and preening incompetents, there are clearly some who are knowingly–and purposely– acting as Russian agents. Talking Points Memo recently reported on one of them.

Before Peter Marocco was selected to dismantle America’s entire foreign aid sector on behalf of President Donald Trump, he was an official with the State Department on a diplomatic mission.

During Trump’s first term, Marocco was a Trump appointee tasked with promoting stability in areas with armed conflict. In 2018, he made a two-week trip to the Balkans in what was advertised as an effort to counter extremism and strengthen inter-religious dialogue.

American diplomacy is carefully prescribed, identifying both the people officials should meet and those they should avoid.  On that 2018 visit to the Balkans, Marocco secretly met with officials, including Milorad Dodik, whom the American government had determined were off-limits: Bosnian Serb separatist leaders who had been working for years to undermine the American-backed peace deal and to promote a Christian Bosnian Serb state….

At the time, Dodik was under U.S. sanctions for actively obstructing American efforts to prevent more bloodshed. Dodik has since described himself as “pro-Russian, anti-Western and anti-American” in a meeting with Putin. Nevertheless, Trump has named Marocco to a senior post at the U.S. Agency for International Development, where he’s attempted to halt dozens of programs. Former colleagues describe his agenda as “overtly militaristic and Christian nationalist.” 

Trump has made Marocco the director for foreign assistance at the State Department, and deputy administrator of USAID —  the two agencies that previously rejected him. “And unlike last time, Marocco is now without strictures and answers to few in the executive branch besides Trump himself.”

Immediately after the inauguration last month, Marocco drafted the order shutting down all of USAID’s programs and freezing foreign aid. He’s led the efforts to place nearly all of the agency’s staff on administrative leave, though the courts have temporarily lifted many of those. Much of USAID’s work has not resumed, according to interviews with dozens of government employees and nongovernmental organizations, despite the State Department’s claim that waivers allow work involving “core lifesaving medicine, medical services, food, shelter and substance assistance” to continue.

The article has much more detail about Marocco’s past activities–all of which raise the question why he has been empowered to orchestrate the Trump administration’s foreign aid policy.

TPM also reports that Rubio and Marocco have now

completely ended nearly 10,000 aid programs — including those they had granted waivers just days earlier — saying the programs did not align with Trump’s agenda. The move consigns untold numbers of the world’s poorest children, refugees and other vulnerable people to death, according to several senior federal officials. Local authorities have already begun estimating a death toll in the hundreds of thousands.

It hardly matters whether Trump is a knowing Russian asset….

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Follow The Grift

Not that it should surprise anyone, but the corruption of our Grifter-in-Chief has become too flagrant and apparent to hide. As Trump has decimated the Justice department and fired the various officials whose job it has been to ensure government ethics, his administration is coming to look a lot like that of his idol Putin.

Want examples?

Here’s a recent report from CNN Business:

A businessman who pumped $75 million into the Trump family-backed crypto token finds himself in a fortunate position this week as federal securities regulators are hitting pause on their civil fraud case against him.

On Wednesday, lawyers for the Securities and Exchange Commission and Justin Sun, a 34-year-old Chinese crypto entrepreneur, asked a federal judge to put the agency’s case on hold, citing the interests of both sides and “the public’s interest.”

The pause is a 180 for the SEC, America’s top financial regulator, which two years ago charged Sun and his companies — Tron, BitTorrent and Rainberry — with selling unregistered securities and fraudulently manipulating the price of digital token Tronix. Sun and his companies sought to have the case dismissed.

This particular grift revolves around the issuance of so-called “meme” coins–crypto tokens. Buyers with sufficient means are invited to bribe Trump by purchasing large amounts of them. To the best of my knowledge–and I’ve looked– there is no accounting, no agency or government individual keeping track of those purchases. 

The media, however, has begun to investigate; Rolling Stone recently ran an article titled “HERE’S EVERYTHING WRONG WITH TRUMP’S CRYPTO MEME COINS” with a subhead reading “The Trump family’s new crypto meme coins are an ethical disaster and ripe for corruption — and they could cost his supporters dearly.”

While campaigning, Trump promised to make the United States the “crypto capital of the planet” after crypto bros poured over $130 million to elect a crypto-captive administration and Congress. Trump has tapped pro-crypto acolytes for regulatory posts across the federal government and released pro-crypto executive orders to establish a White House crypto working group and prioritize crypto across government. To top it off, the huckster-in-chief launched his $TRUMP meme coin: one part a vehicle for personal profit, one part a playground taunt over federal ethics rules, and one part a crypto-fascist pledge of allegiance. It’s a move that could not only rip off Trump supporters but also significantly corrode the democratic process.

The article goes on to explain just what a “meme coin” is: 

a crypto token based on little more than an online image, slogan, or passing social trend. The crypto industry argues it is a sort of digital collectible. The fine print on the $TRUMP coin website notes that the coins “are not intended to be, or to be the subject of, an investment opportunity, investment contract, or security of any type.”

These coins have no practical use, unlike other crypto assets, which do have such uses (mostly laundering drug money or tax evasion). Most end up being worthless; a number are sold by “investors” hyping their value just long enough to allow insiders to cash out. Interestingly, the $TRUMP fine print requires its buyers to give up their rights to sue.

As the article notes, the Trump venture “presents a mind-boggling number of potential conflicts of interest” and appears designed to prey upon rather than protect naive Americans.  Or–as emerging evidence like the dismissal of the SEC suit suggests–to provide a perfect mechanism for bribery.

Lawmakers (okay, Democratic lawmakers) are beginning to catch on; one Democratic Senator has promised to introduce a measure that would make this particular grift illegal. As ABC recently reported,

Since launching a little over a month ago, the $TRUMP coin has tanked in value after early investors dumped the cryptocurrency. Members of Congress have noticed as hundreds of thousands of investors have taken hard hits and billions in value have quickly vanished.

California freshman Democrat Rep. Sam Liccardo told ABC News on Thursday he will introduce legislation to prohibit the country’s top officials and their families — from Congress to the White House — from capitalizing on personal meme coins.

I don’t think ABC is quite correct in saying that the coin has no value. That is undoubtedly true for the MAGA cult suckers who purchase it, but it clearly has considerable value for “businessmen” who want government to drop lawsuits and/or investigations, or who seek fat contracts or other preferential treatment. (Reports are that a number of lawsuits are being dropped.)

Trump has learned a lot from his idol Putin about how to keep the oligarchs loyal…..

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