Rightwing State and Local Govs Seek to Follow in Elon’s Footsteps and DOGE Themselves

Elon Musk is attempting to destroy the federal government by crippling the agencies that deliver public services, keep Americans’ air and water clean, tell us what the upcoming weather looks like, and protect us from predatory corporations. Conservative governments across the country are so impressed with this effort that they, too, want to destroy themselves and screw over their constituents.

Business Insider reports that a handful of state and local governments are copying Musk’s “slash-and-burn playbook” and looking to cull “wasteful” government programs. The initiatives are taking place in at least 18 states, counties, and towns, BI claims. The outlet reports:

The push is happening through executive orders and legislative action as governors, state lawmakers, and business executives promise to root out what they view as waste and fraud within state governments. And they’ve adopted quirky names, including the GOAT committee in Wisconsin and FLOGE in Florida. One state even has a BullDOGEr on the case.

The self-immolating impulse on display here would be funny if it weren’t so pathetic. Misguided and uninformed Americans seem to believe that key services—like education, water, roads, and weather reports—will be less expensive if they are privatized. Unfortunately, they are completely and totally wrong. Instead, cutting public funding usually just means that your life is about to get much harder. One conservative state legislator’s comments, sourced by BI, show the thought process here:

Assemblyman Alex Sauickie of New Jersey, a Republican who sponsored a DOGE bill in his state, said efficiency in spending was king. “We’re going to have to make those decisions and say, ‘Hey, we can’t be funding minor league ballparks or tennis courts or dominoes clubs with taxpayer money,’” he said. The state auditor would lead the group, alongside 20 members of the public.

Yeah, a free minor league ballpark? That just cannot stand. Cut the funding and let the townspeople build their own ballpark. That’ll be a lot more efficient and inexpensive for everybody.

It should be obvious at this point that Musk is not making the government more efficient, nor is he saving taxpayers money. A recent report showed that federal spending hit a new record last month. Indeed, government spending in February was $36 billion higher than last February, when Biden was in office. That’s because most of the agencies that Musk is terrorizing represent minuscule fractions of federal spending (meaning that, for the money, they are actually quite efficient). A majority of federal spending is on entitlements like Social Security and Medicare, which Americans—including Trump’s base—overwhelmingly support keeping.

True dyed-in-the-wool government “efficiency” fans should have no fear, however, because Musk seems to want to get rid of those programs, too. DOGE has made numerous attacks on the Social Security Administration and seems determined to downsize and hamstring it. Musk recently called Social Security a “Ponzi scheme.”