Have We Reached the Tipping Point?

Twenty-five years ago, author Malcolm Gladwell released a book entitled The Tipping Point. In this classic, Gladwell explores the idea that small changes can cause a big shift, leading to rapid and widespread societal change. Sometimes, a small number of people can play a big role in spreading ideas that become widely accepted and change society.

During his 2024 campaign for president, Donald Trump told the American people that he intended to create a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and that Tesla creator Elon Musk and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy would lead this new effort. Although this was an interesting idea, I don’t think anyone voted for (or against) Donald Trump because of this one campaign promise. My, what a difference a few months can make!

Ramaswamy has moved on to run for governor of Ohio, so Musk is alone at the helm of DOGE. Mr. Musk is taking his job seriously.

The first big news from DOGE pertained to a government agency known as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). DOGE’s audit of this agency revealed some stunning information. I’m not going to list the ridiculous projects funded by USAID because that is not the point of this article. Rather, I am going to discuss the impact these findings may have had upon the electorate, and ultimately upon our elected officials.

U.S. presidents and members of Congress have talked about balancing the budget and reducing the national debt since Ronald Reagan delivered his “A Time for Choosing” speech in 1964. Since that time, Washington politicians have done absolutely nothing about our excessive spending. In the 61 years from 1964 through 2024, the United States has had an annual budget deficit 57 times, and a budget surplus four times – 1998 through 2001. It is worth noting that those surplus years resulted from massive revenue flowing into the treasury, thanks to the tech boom. It did not result from spending control. Federal spending increased in each of those years.

H.L. Mencken once said, "Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard." There is a lot of truth in this as it pertains to government spending. The dirty little secret is that Americans want their government largesse. That is why politicians don’t control spending. A vote to cut a government program is more likely to cost you an election than a vote to spend government money and increase the national debt. In a strange sort of way, the enormous national debt is an example of the American people getting what they want, “good and hard.”

But maybe, just maybe, something is changing. Perhaps the revelations made by DOGE have taken us to a tipping point. A recent CBS/YouGov poll revealed that 54% of Americans believe Musk should have at least some influence on government spending. The same poll showed a majority of Americans support President Trump’s effort to cut staffing at government agencies. A Washington Post/IPSOS poll of registered voters showed that 42% of respondents believe that DOGE is cutting "wasteful" spending, while only 36% believe that the department is cutting "necessary programs." The tipping point?

For the first time in my lifetime, it seems a majority of people understand that our government must get a handle on spending, even if it involves some pain. Our national debt is over $36 trillion, and our fiscal 2024 budget deficit was $1.895 trillion. If this continues, our economy, as well as the world economy, will crash. This cannot be sustained. But the only way this will be addressed is if the public supports spending cuts, even when it hurts some people. For the sake of our survival, let’s hope we have reached the tipping point.