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Ignore the pundits — DOGE is the future
February 26, 2025
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If the mainstream media is to be believed, DOGE represents an existential threat to the American republic.
Ask the average American, on the other hand, and you’ll discover high levels of enthusiasm for DOGE and its projected US$500 billion in federal savings.
Results from a Harvard Caps/Harris poll released this week reveal levels of support for the initiative that have surprised even the Trump camp.
When asked if the current level of federal government debt is unsustainable, 67 percent of voters agreed, while 83 percent favoured reducing expenditure over increasing taxes.
Drilling down further, 77 percent said a full probe of government expenditure is needed, 70 percent agreed the government is “filled with waste, fraud, and inefficiency” — and most significantly, 60 percent of voters feel DOGE is moving the needle on these glaring problems.
Poll reveals DOGE is very popular with Americans despite the mainstream media trying to make it seem otherwise. pic.twitter.com/qu10Gzyohh
— Defiant L’s (@DefiantLs) February 25, 2025
The outrage machine might be in overdrive, in other words, but real-world data suggests the latest spat of Musk Derangement Syndrome is astroturfed.
It’s also a tip-off that the media outlets, politicians, NGOs and federal agencies that are squealing the loudest likely have the most to lose — and that’s great news for struggling US taxpayers who’ve been forced to fund their largesse for far too long.
Looking at the Trump administration more broadly, signs are all around that the voters are happy with their pick back in November.
A CNN poll taken shortly after Inauguration Day found Trump’s net approval rating was at its highest ever, even surpassing any point in his first term.
It’s been mostly up from there. A CBS News poll pegged Trump’s job approval at 53 percent, with 70 percent of Americans feeling he’s delivering on his campaign promises.
Meanwhile, Rasmussen Reports found that 47 percent of Americans now believe the country is on the “right track” versus 46 percent saying the opposite — a net positivenever seen in 20 years of polling, and way up on the 28 percent reported under Biden last September.
Arthur Schopenhauer might have been a lousy philosopher, but he was right about one thing: “All truth goes through three stages. First it is ridiculed. Then it is violently opposed. Finally, it is accepted as self-evident.”
Watch this space: It is my strong suspicion that Departments of Government Efficiency will begin popping up in many more Western democracies over the coming decade.
It’s worth noting that the E in the DOGE acronym is largely possible thanks to recent advances in artificial intelligence, which Musk and his team are leveraging in their war on fraud, waste and abuse.
At agencies like the Department of Education, Microsoft’s Azure AI platform is reportedlyanalysing every dollar spent to expose hidden waste in contracts, travel reimbursements and more.
Indeed, Musk has flagged $100 billion in potential Medicare and Medicaid savings and credited this to AI’s ability to detect irregularities easily overlooked by human auditors.
Using AI for such tasks does not come without its commensurate risks, as the corporate press has been at pains to point out. But what AI can identify, humans can later verify. The trick is finding anomalies in the first place, given the sprawling monstrosity that is the US federal government with its more than 400 agencies and departments.
If serious AI data breaches do materialise, I will be the first to eat humble pie. But for now, I’m bullish on a project that was both politically and technologically unimaginable until now.
At this very moment, nameless, faceless hordes lurk in the shadows, scheming how they might weaponise artificial intelligence against our human dignity and inalienable freedoms.
Yet when the world’s most successful entrepreneur wields AI against the excesses of Big Government, not only is he demonised but — in a fit of irony — called a fascist.
More orchestrated than organic, all the hullabaloo from the media and bureaucratic class is failing to pass the sniff test.
They hate it for the same reason taxpayers love it — their grift is finally being exposed.
Just wait until they pretend they supported it all along.
Forward this article to your friends!
Kurt Mahlburg is a writer and author, and an emerging Australian voice on culture and the Christian faith. He has a passion for both the philosophical and the personal, drawing on his background as a graduate architect, a primary school teacher, a missionary, and a young adult pastor.
Image credit: cartoon by Brian Doyle
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Emberson Fedders commented 2025-03-01 09:46:24 +1100The ultimate irony? Inflation is at its highest in a year. Remember when MAGA screamed about that every day and said that was their number one priority?
Turns out the priority was making the unemployment rate higher, crushing the lives of Americas poorest and making the rich even richer. -
mrscracker commented 2025-03-01 04:42:06 +1100I’m the wrong person to ask that question Mr. Mouse. Even in organizations & govt. bureaus set up to protect consumers there can be waste & fraud. I really don’t have any info. about the one you mentioned. Possibly one of my children may.
I just know from personal experience that sometimes those entrusted to safeguard us can be a part of the problem. And consumers can be partners in fraud when it comes to things like mortgages. At a lower level of accountability no doubt, but participants all the same. -
Anon Emouse commented 2025-02-28 23:37:06 +1100I don’t think Kurt will respond to these many valid points, Emberson.
Maybe mrscracker can point out why shuttering CFPB is a good thing -
Emberson Fedders commented 2025-02-28 12:35:31 +1100I believe that group would see their taxes increase by about $1600 a year.
And now the latest – The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has just been neutralized. That’s an agency that cost approximately $900 million to run, but had been responsible for recovering $21 BILLION for American citizens. This organization oversaw predatory banking practices, dodgy loan schemes, credit card and mortgages anomalies, so that the people would have recourse when they are ripped off or defrauded by corporations.
It makes sense that the oligarchy hated this Bureau, and have fought hard since its inception in 201o to get rid of it, but why the average person on the street would is beyond me.
Still, I imagine that Kurt is very excited about it. -
mrscracker commented 2025-02-28 07:05:54 +1100So, I consulted one of my children who works for the state & they directed me to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For US citizens working full time the average income is closer to 62k – 80k.
Most of us with children who have a modest income actually receive back tax refunds. Increasing the child tax credit wouldn’t be a bad idea. -
mrscracker commented 2025-02-27 22:50:58 +1100Good morning Mr. Fedders. Just curious, where did you see those figures for the average US income level?
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Emberson Fedders commented 2025-02-27 12:38:21 +1100And, of course Kurt, the round of tax cuts that all of these firings are paying for are going to go to the wealthiest Americans. For example, you earn under $28,600 a year? Your taxes are going UP by $790.
You earn between $28,600 and $55,000 (which is where the average American income sits)? Your taxes are INCREASING by $1430.
However, if you earn over $914,000 a year (putting you comfortably in the top 1%), well you’re going to get a tax CUT of $36,320.
Add to that the new budget that instructs the following committees to cut the following amounts –
The Energy and Commerce committee will cut $880 billion. This is where Medicaid is funded.
Agriculture committee will cut $230 billion, which is where food stamps are funded.
So what we are seeing is a COLOSSAL transfer of wealth from the working and middle class (including making a whole lot of them unemployed, which will have a flow on effect to the businesses around that rely on their custom) to the richest people in the country.
And this is what Kurt is crowing about? -
mrscracker commented 2025-02-27 03:32:09 +1100That’s quite an impressive power saw Mr. Musk is holding. I knew a priest who could juggle a chain saw. Maybe that’s the next act for Elon.
:) -
Anon Emouse commented 2025-02-27 02:49:11 +1100“ Yet when the world’s most successful entrepreneur wields AI against the excesses of Big Government, not only is he demonised but — in a fit of irony — called a fascist. More orchestrated than organic, all the hullabaloo from the media and bureaucratic class is failing to pass the sniff test.”
I’m sure Elon has reviewed the government contracts for Tesla and Space X and Star link, right? Will he examine those?
Or will he look at how much money Trump wasted with his publicity stunts at the superbowl or Daytona 500?
What about how much money he’s wasting golfing?
Kurt, your “analysis” and praise doesn’t pass the sniff test -
Anon Emouse commented 2025-02-27 01:59:06 +1100Also, Kurt -
What do you make of DOGE accidentally firing people working on the nation’s nuclear program, only to scramble to rehire them when they realized that they (DOGE) messed up? Or anyone else that they’ve accidentally fired?
What do you make of DOGE seeking to cut benefits to the sick, poor, and needy? Is that something Jesus would want? -
Anon Emouse commented 2025-02-26 23:17:24 +1100What’s unsaid is the hat republicans want to balloon the deficit and explode the debt. $2T in spending cuts and $4.5T in tax cuts yields a $2T deficit.
“Party of fiscal responsibility” lol -
Paul Bunyan commented 2025-02-26 22:55:20 +1100Imagine all the trillions that could be saved if tax cuts for the rich were instead utilised for feeding, housing, educating and clothing the less fortunate. Those who didn’t inherit emerald mines and bottomless bank accounts.
CEOs and executives do not deserve nine-figure compensation packages for being figureheads.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-budget-bill-4-5-trillion-tax-cuts-survives-house-vote
Then again, educated women tend to have fewer children, so I’m not surprised that conservatives are so vehemently opposed to it. -
Anon Emouse commented 2025-02-26 22:38:04 +1100Also, were DOGE doing good work, they wouldn’t have to lie:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2025/02/19/here-are-the-biggest-doge-hoaxes-and-inaccuracies-as-8-million-canceled-ice-contract-listed-at-8-billion/
Shocked you didn’t list this, Kurt. -
Anon Emouse commented 2025-02-26 22:33:07 +1100
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