No one year has passed since the US President’s announcement Donald TrumpIn November 2024, appointment Elon Musk At the top of an initiative to reform government efficiency – which was called “Doge” – until Washington began to describe it as “resounding failure”, according to Economist.
This initiative – which was welcomed by prominent businessmen and economic thinkers, such as Sean Maguire of the “Sikoya Investment Capital” company and Bill Akamin from “Wall Street” – appeared in its infancy as if it were the cornerstone of reforming the bureaucratic system “rotten” until the progressive Senator Bernie Sanders He provided his caution, referring to waste and corruption in the US defense budget.
However, the reality violated the expectations. On May 28, Mask announced his withdrawal from the initiative via a post on his platform “X” followed by the resignation of his senior aides, Steve Davis and Katie (the wife of Stephen Miller, the chief White House employee).
Two days later, Musk appeared at a press conference alongside Trump and a bruise looked under the eye, which he said was the result of a blow from his young son “X”. Trump then presented him with a “gold key” to celebrate his “retirement” while asserting that he will remain a “adviser” of the initiative.
Huge promises and meager results
Musk pledged the start of the campaign to provide up to a trillion dollars from government expenses, and he actually began to reduce external aid and lay off tens of thousands of employees. However, these items represent a small percentage of the total federal spending.
According to the “Economist” report, the “Doug” initiative announced the saving of about 175 billion dollars, which the magazine described as “in doubt”, while the official data of the Treasury indicates that federal spending continued to rise, according to the newspaper.
“The federal bureaucracy is much worse than I was imagining” while in his interview with CBS indicated that he does not want to take full responsibility, despite his criticism of the Trump’s new budget, which he said “weakened his efforts to reduce spending by increasing public debt.”
Movements based on conspiracy theories
Contrary to the traditional reform initiatives led by veteran technicians and administrators, a mask took a standard approach to controversial ideas, such as allegations that Democrats are using the government tool to transfer money to irregular immigrants, and that there are “fake employees” who receive salaries without real presence, but rather said that some government offices have turned into “camps for the displaced.”
“Economist” – quoting a recent report by the New York Times – stated that the conviction of Musk with these ideas coincided with what the latter described as “excessive consumption” of strong drugs such as ketamine, a drug that is very influential, despite the denial of this claim, with its approval on previous occasions using it from time to time.
The “Doug” method – according to the magazine – caused the aversion of specialized accountants who could have revealed actual corruption, as Musk began a collective separation campaign for employees, although salaries represent less than 5% of public spending. The result: wholesale lawsuits, and the return of state institutions to the complex legal paths in the administrative semester, where protection is granted to those who have seniority or an old warrior.
Distinguished effects on the inside and outside
Despite the failure to achieve the declared goals, “Dog” has a great impact. According to statistical models – browned by Brock Nichols in the Boston University – the discounts in external aid may lead to the death of 300,000 people, including 200,000 children, as a result of hunger and infectious diseases.
At the local level, the program caused a state of panic and frustration within the American administrative apparatus, where the engineers of the youth mask accused the “Trump theory in the absolute executive authority” and the use of control of digital systems to intimidate the bureaucrats.
In a remarkable incident, the American judiciary reopened the “United States Peace Institute” after it was forcibly closed by “Doug” elements, and when the employees returned to it, the cleaning workers found the effects of narcotic substances that are likely to be likely that “Doug” employees were saved from them before they left the building.
A legacy that makes it difficult for future reform
Max Stir, head of the “Partnership for Public Service” Foundation, says the basic idea that the government needs to modernize “very correct” and pointed out that the absence of accountability and intertwined regulation laws challenge public projects.
He considered that Musk was right in his belief that “a lot of rules could and may be broken”, but at the same time he warned that “Dog” chaos made it difficult for any future administration to make real and effective reform.
Economist believes that the inheritance of a mask in the public administration may not be represented in his ability to change, but rather the extent of the damage he caused to attempts to change itself. The savior for which investors and decision makers have been forced today, a burden on the government, and it is feared that his failed experience will be a future obstacle to any meaningful reform.