DOGE, Do-nothing Congress, Trump & Entertainment

 

I have lived just outside the Washington, DC beltway for more than 30 years in suburban Maryland and Virginia. For several years I commuted daily into Washington. Washington is a dynamic city with first class museums, beautiful monuments, amazing restaurants and the heartbeat of our federal government. One thing that has resonated with me over the decades is the fact there is virtually no traffic when the government is shut down and only ‘necessary’ employees are required to show up for work. If government employees are not ‘necessary’ why are we paying them with our tax dollars? 💸 

The outcry over Elon Musk and the DOGE team looking for efficiency, fraud, wasted taxpayer dollars, and  right sizing the government puzzles me. I can only suppose that those howling the loudest are afraid DOGE will discover boondoggles, shell companies, the fact that many who work at federal agencies do zero productive work while having more protections than any civilian employees, and that the massive waste caused by the regulatory environment just perpetuates the perception of ordinary Americans that government serves itself.

Yes, jobs will be eliminated. Grants will be revisited and conditions revised. Pork may be made into sausage. Automation will replace people.Contracts will be reviewed and revised with a much  lower allowance for charging overhead. 

But,  it is time we returned to a meritocracy.  Perhaps the audacity of Donald Trump and his fearlessness may give Congress the impetus to do its job. I am furious that so much time, money and argument is wasted on showboating. Just STFU, figure out how to play together in the sandbox, and fix the broken system. For once in my lifetime, I want to see the political class do the right thing for the USA instead of perpetuating the status quo and pandering to special interests to get re-elected. 

In the meantime, I’ll read media reports, social media posts, listen to the apoplexy and enjoy the show. Trump is a showman. I’m enjoying the show.