This page is a permanent link to the reply below and its nested replies. See all post replies »
ElwoodBlues · M
You can't successfully launch a rocket if your calculations are full of errors; thus we know Musk's people can work to a high standard.
So why is DOGE so inaccurate and sloppy??? Why doesn't Musk wait until he has all the facts instead of publishing tons of errors?? DOGE's error rate makes it a completely unreliable source. Here's just a handful of examples.
The numerous mistakes, according to people familiar with the complex world of government contracting, suggest that Mr. Musk’s team of outsiders, charged by the president with cutting spending, don’t fully understand it.
UPDATE
So why is DOGE so inaccurate and sloppy??? Why doesn't Musk wait until he has all the facts instead of publishing tons of errors?? DOGE's error rate makes it a completely unreliable source. Here's just a handful of examples.
Musk's DOGE touted slashing an $8 billion contract. It actually cut $8 million.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/02/19/doge-said-it-cut-8-billion-contract-8-million/79176949007/The numerous mistakes, according to people familiar with the complex world of government contracting, suggest that Mr. Musk’s team of outsiders, charged by the president with cutting spending, don’t fully understand it.
David Reid, an environmental scientist in Michigan, was surprised to learn his contract studying invasive species in the St. Lawrence Seaway was included on the list. “That contract wasn’t canceled by DOGE or anyone else,” he said. The contract expired on Dec. 31 and he decided to retire and not renew it, he said. “If they took credit for canceling the contract, they’re lying.”
A report by CBS News this week found another type of error involving this kind of contract: The group had triple-counted the $655 million maximum value of one contract for U.S.A.I.D. with numerous sub-contracts.
In another case, DOGE claimed $232 million in savings on a contract providing information technology support to the Social Security Administration. But The Intercept reported that only a sliver of the contract was canceled — a program to let users mark their gender as “X” — bringing the actual savings closer to $560,000.
In another case, DOGE claimed $232 million in savings on a contract providing information technology support to the Social Security Administration. But The Intercept reported that only a sliver of the contract was canceled — a program to let users mark their gender as “X” — bringing the actual savings closer to $560,000.
The “wall of receipts” also lists hundreds of cases in which — even by the website’s own accounting — the changes saved taxpayers nothing. In one contract, the Securities and Exchange Commission had agreed to spend $10 million for a five-year subscription to the legal-research site Westlaw. But the savings are listed as $0. The S.E.C.’s contract expired in March 2024.
The group also claims unrealistic estimates from several special kinds of umbrella contracts. When the government expects many different offices may want ongoing orders of the same general product or service — say, I.T. — it creates an overall contracting mechanism with a set ceiling under which several pre-vetted vendors can compete for individual orders. Each of those individual orders represents money the government has committed to spend. But the ceiling on the whole umbrella doesn’t.
“It’s not real money,” said Kelly Saldana, who spent nearly two decades working at U.S.A.I.D., including as the director of its office of health systems. If one of these larger contracts has a ceiling of $100 million and there’s only one $10 million order under it, the remaining $90 million isn’t savings or money that could be spent elsewhere.
“It’s not real money,” said Kelly Saldana, who spent nearly two decades working at U.S.A.I.D., including as the director of its office of health systems. If one of these larger contracts has a ceiling of $100 million and there’s only one $10 million order under it, the remaining $90 million isn’t savings or money that could be spent elsewhere.
UPDATE
DOGE Quietly Deletes the 5 Biggest Spending Cuts It Celebrated Last Week
AlsoNearly 40% of the federal contracts that President Donald Trump’s administration claims to have canceled as part of its signature cost-cutting program aren’t expected to save the government any money, the administration’s own data shows.
The Department of Government Efficiency, run by Trump adviser Elon Musk, published an updated list Monday of nearly 2,300 contracts that agencies terminated in recent weeks across the federal government. Data published on DOGE’s “Wall of Receipts” shows that more than one-third of the contract cancellations, 794 in all, are expected to yield no savings.
The Department of Government Efficiency, run by Trump adviser Elon Musk, published an updated list Monday of nearly 2,300 contracts that agencies terminated in recent weeks across the federal government. Data published on DOGE’s “Wall of Receipts” shows that more than one-third of the contract cancellations, 794 in all, are expected to yield no savings.
ElwoodBlues · M
@ElwoodBlues I'm not opposed to having government departments audited. I just need solid evidence from the auditor without errors.
Congress allocates every penny; often in block grants. The Constitution gives the power of the purse to Congress and only to Congress. it does not give the president any power to arbitrarily halt spending.
Congress allocates every penny; often in block grants. The Constitution gives the power of the purse to Congress and only to Congress. it does not give the president any power to arbitrarily halt spending.
ElwoodBlues · M
@ElwoodBlues And here's the reason why 卐LON keeps posting larger and more outlandish numbers, still without supporting evidence.
Tяump & 卐LON are preparing the cult for a truly outrageous tax cut, based on projected future savings that will never materialize. It's cover for a giant raid on the treasury. You read it here first.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) halts payments past a certain age (110 or 114; I've seen both reported); beyond the cutoff age you have to provide proof of life to keep getting checks.
AND, the SSA publishes tables including the number of recipients in each age bracket.
Thus, we know exactly how many Social Security checks went out in December to people aged 99+ -- 89,106.
https://x.com/JamesSurowiecki/status/1891656442920276222
According to the US Census, in 2020 we had 80,139 people aged 100+. https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/2020/census-briefs/c2020br-06.pdf
The fact that the 99+ bracket is more inclusive than the 100+ bracket accounts for the discrepancy.
There's a reason why 卐LON remains deafeningly silent on the dollar amounts going to those outlandish age brackets - it's because the dollar amount is zero.
Tяump & 卐LON are preparing the cult for a truly outrageous tax cut, based on projected future savings that will never materialize. It's cover for a giant raid on the treasury. You read it here first.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) halts payments past a certain age (110 or 114; I've seen both reported); beyond the cutoff age you have to provide proof of life to keep getting checks.
AND, the SSA publishes tables including the number of recipients in each age bracket.
Thus, we know exactly how many Social Security checks went out in December to people aged 99+ -- 89,106.
https://x.com/JamesSurowiecki/status/1891656442920276222
According to the US Census, in 2020 we had 80,139 people aged 100+. https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/2020/census-briefs/c2020br-06.pdf
The fact that the 99+ bracket is more inclusive than the 100+ bracket accounts for the discrepancy.
There's a reason why 卐LON remains deafeningly silent on the dollar amounts going to those outlandish age brackets - it's because the dollar amount is zero.