Yesterday I said something about DOGE selling a pipe dream by claiming they'll find $2t in annual savings while unable to touch entitlements, the military, or interest on the debt. I'll stand by that... 2t is 30% of the budget, the three things off-limits are 60% of the budget, and cutting 30% of the budget from a 40% chunk of the budget isn't realistic.
But that doesn't mean DOGE is incapable of giving some good advice that could meaningfully improve things just because they set their aims higher than is possible. And as long as it's not an actual government department and can just provide a laundry wish list that neither Congress nor the executive are under any obligation to implement, they might as well aim for the moon.
And as long as it's not a real thing with any power and is just a game, a plaything, a white paper with no power other than suggestion, I might as well play along. After all, I'm sitting at this tire shop without a book and got some time on my hands. What would I suggest?
Entitlement reform and military spending are the two most necessary things to tackle, but both are off the table under Trump which makes the $2t unattainable.
But given the constraints Elon and Vivek are under? I'd start with a push to eliminate the department of education, which Trump said on the campaign he was open to. It's been in existence for a little over forty years, and not a single educational metric has improved. It's been a complete and utter failure, completely unnecessary, and students were better off before it. That alone would be a massively huge deal.
Second, I'd focus on federal land. There's no reason the federal government should outright own the majority of land in any state, but they own like 80-something percent of Nevada, and 200-something million acres in Alaska. Some of that land might need protecting for environmental reasons, though there's no reasons the states can't fulfill that role. But a lot of the land should be used by humans, and could be auctioned off to help pay down the deficit.
Third, probably reforming housing and urban development. The federal government shouldn't really be micromanaging what cities do in terms of housing policy. It's not something that can be as effectively done from Washington as it could be on the ground, by the cities themselves, who know what their needs are. Federal focus just leads to rewarding allies rather than effectively serving the needs of urban areas broadly.
Fourth, foreign aid. It's not a big part of the budget, but the national mood is against it and the door is open for huge cuts. We shouldn't be providing foreign aid to most nations, and especially not to authoritarian governments.
Fifth, the gas tax should fund 100% of transportation spending, and be divorced from the general fund entirely. FICA should entirely fund entitlements, without anything coming from the general fund. Even if it means raising taxes, those items being off-budget is far better in the long run.
Sixth, the federal government has spent decades blocking permitting for new nuclear plants. New generations of nuclear are safe, efficient, and green. They work regardless of whether the wind is blowing out the sun is shining. Our energy consumption is through the roof, and it's time.
Seventh, legally requiring Congress to pass the separate budgets they're supposed to with penalties for non-compliance, and a balanced budget amendment. Neither would pass right now, but it's important for the issue to be raised all the same.
Eighth, repeal the Jones Act.
Elon and Vivek had a good article the other day about their suggestions involving government employees and the ability to fire unnecessary or even counterproductive ones... and undoing regulatory agencies' ability to essentially write law when Congress doesn't... which sounded decent and they should keep the general gist of that.
There's plenty of other things I could add, but if I were in their shoes, those would be my priorities. Most of Trump's picks suck, but the ones that don't, my hesitation is in people who lean my way expecting too much from them. Elon and Vivek will probably produce at least some great ideas for government reform even if it falls far short of some ambitious $2t in savings for taxpayers even before Congress chooses not to implement most of it. Tulsi having a voice in foreign policy discussions will be a great thing, but she'll be one intervention-skeptic voice in rooms mostly filled with neocons. RFK will be a huge mixed bag, with some great and some awful proposals at HHS. He's kinda crazy and wrong on vaccines, but also skeptical of big pharma and HHS and chemicals in food in a way that's refreshing and necessary to restore trust in an agency that's fallen victim of regulatory capture.