I can tell you 2 things about DOGE.
First, whatever Elon want it to do with Federal Government, DOGE aren't there to check on budget leak. I know as a matter of fact, with all the accountant I have in my family (My mother was an accountant, and my sister is an accountant and my brother in law is a Actuarial), you need a team of Forensic Accountant, General Accountant, Actuarial, Auditor to do auditing, not a bunch of 19-25 years old tech bro kids to look over the budget of a country. You ain't gonna get a high end job in a local business if you just get your CPA, big corpo wouldn't even look at you, and we are to believe a bunch of 19-25 years old, who most of them have no background in accounting and auditing would know how to balance the book of the entire country??
Second, it's dumb to have a quasi "federal department" (DOGE was a rebrand of US Digitial Service) headed by an unelected official to even get access to government record, let alone deciding what they want to cut. Setting aside you don't want unvetted people to look into government record, just the political ramification alone this is a whole can of worm you shouldn't open, because now you gave the democrat the same idea for them to do the same thing to GOP and cut EVERYTHING even remotely conservative when they come back to power. This is probably one of the stupidest move ever in the political arena.
I totally agree, and I’d like to add that Musk's dual role as the head of the DOGE and a major government contractor and political donor presents significant conflicts of interest. As the founder and CEO of companies like Tesla and SpaceX, he has substantial financial interests tied to government contracts and policies. These companies have benefited immensely from federal contracts and subsidies, making him one of the government's largest contractors. Additionally, his status as a prominent political donor, to Trump's campaign, further complicates his role in a government position.
Adding to the complexities are the young employees Musk has hired for DOGE. Among them, individuals like Edward Coristine (19 years old), Marko Elez (25 years old) and Gavin Kliger (25 years old) have raised serious concerns. As you rightly pointed out, they are not even qualified for the job.
Coristine, according to Bloomberg was fired from cybersecurity firm Path Network in 2022 for “leaking internal information to the competitors.” He now has access to the federal government's most sensitive internal data, even though he lacks the necessary confirmed clearance. His online behavior, including promoting racism against various groups, further questions his suitability for such a critical job.
Elez, who was rehired despite making racist remarks online, exemplifies the controversial nature of Musk's hiring decisions. As a DOGE member he has access to Treasury Department systems, has posted racist content on social media. In a series of now-deleted X posts, Elez called for the repeal of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, bragged about being racist “before it was cool,” and demanded that hatred of Indian workers within the tech industry be normalized. Elez also expressed disgust at the idea of interracial marriage, suggested that U.S. immigration policy should be based on eugenics, and said that he wouldn’t “mind at all if Gaza and Israel were both wiped off the face of the Earth.”
Kliger, has been reported to have amplified white supremacist and misogynistic content online.
The behavior and competence of these young employees reflect poorly on the department's ability to fulfill its mission effectively. Their actions not only undermine the integrity and trustworthiness of DOGE but also raise questions about Musk's judgment in entrusting them with significant responsibilities.
While I'm not opposed to the idea of the DOGE—in fact, I think it's a long-overdue initiative given the bloated nature of our government—I believe that the current approach is flawed. To ensure the success of DOGE, Trump should appoint competent and qualified individuals, with thorough background checks to verify their suitability for such critical roles.
@AZ_HighCountry
