Musk and Trump: Doge or how taxpayers disappeared in the no man's land!

Musk and Trump: Doge or how taxpayers disappeared in the no man's land!

Elon Musk, who worked as a consultant in the Ministry of Government Efficiency (Doge) in the second term of the US President Donald Trump, had the ambitious goal of saving two trillion US dollars in government spending. However, a current record shows that Musk could not achieve this goal and that the savings are often unclear and difficult to understand. According to a report by OP-ONLINE Musk, Doge will reduce the deficit by a billion, without but to be able to prove this claim.

The actual savings of Doge seem to be minimal. According to DW.com , Doge was only able to achieve a thousandth of the desired savings. Only about 20 percent of the allegedly achieved savings are officially documented. An example of the inconsistencies is the decline in the specified savings from 8 billion to just $ 8 million. Although the White House indicates that Doge has saved $ 170 billion, experts estimate that the correct savings may only be about $ 72 billion.

economic consequences

The savings result primarily from terminated contracts, grants and leasing contracts. The numbers speak for themselves: $ 32 billion from terminated contracts, $ 40 billion savings in grants and $ 216 million from leasing contracts. But these savings could cost the United States more in the long term, experts warn. The loss of income, possible legal proceedings and falling productivity could exceed the positive effects of the savings.

Another alarming aspect is that around two million state employees received a severance payment offer for voluntary termination, which led to massive layoffs. These mass layoffs have already led to an increase in expenditure on the part of the US government by $ 250 billion compared to the previous year, so that expenses have increased by 10 percent.

legal questions and reactions

There is increasingly legal resistance to the measures of Doge, and the legality of many of their actions is questioned. A Harvard University survey showed that 70 percent of the Americans believe that government expenditure is characterized by waste and fraud. These concerns are underpinned by the fact that thousands of government agents, including the development authority USAID, have been released. While Trump Musk praised his work and even presented him with a gilded key, many experts see the reality of the savings.

In addition to the concerns about the savings, the European Commission recently presented the efficiency of public administrations in to improve the EU. This initiative, known as Compact, aims to reduce bureaucracy and strengthen the capacities of administrations. The suggestions could serve as a contrast to the instruments used as part of Musk's Doge, and illustrate the different approach in the increase in efficiency in administration.