If You’re Not Angry, Something’s Wrong With You
Part II
In my last post I pointed out that anger is the only reasonable response to the federal government’s wasteful spending and fraud that have recently been revealed. The Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE, has uncovered government expenditures that are hard to believe. Taxpayers are being used and abused by irresponsible and selfish politicians, bureaucrats, and others who have found ways to divert public funds to absurd projects and private checking accounts.
These people have been caught with their collective hand in the cookie jar. The offenses are clear, and the identities of the offenders are obvious. It would seem that some contrition is in order, yet there seems to be none.
Elon Musk, the billionaire founder of Tesla and SpaceX, is leading the DOGE effort to root out government waste and graft. He is acting on behalf of the duly elected President of the United States, but has been accused of everything from self-dealing to fascism. I am not suggesting that Musk can do anything he wants. However, carrying out the President’s plan, which was revealed during the campaign, is not an abuse of power, let alone authoritarianism.
When confronted with the abuses uncovered by DOGE, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said, “Whatever DOGE is doing, it is not what democracy looks like.” Some of Schumer’s other comments have been so incendiary that Interim U.S. Attorney Ed Martin is investigating threats against DOGE personnel that may have been inspired by Schumer.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said DOGE is not a “serious effort.” In other words, finding out whether your tax money has been wasted at best, and stolen at worst, is not a “serious effort.”
Fourteen states are plaintiffs in a lawsuit intended to thwart Musk’s effort to audit government spending. The states argue DOGE is spreading “chaos and confusion” in the United States. Where were these attorneys general when uninhibited illegal immigration gave us true “chaos and confusion” during four dismal years known as the Biden Administration?
I do not expect anyone to agree with every action taken by DOGE. I undoubtedly won’t agree with everything Musk and his team choose to do. However, it is appalling that we have elected officials all over this country who refuse to acknowledge that the government wastes money or that something should be done about it.
Presidents, members of Congress, and bureaucrats are unwilling to acknowledge, and don’t seem to care, that they are spending other people’s money. The hubris is remarkable. If a corporation behaved like this, the officers and directors would be removed. If the company were publicly traded, the leaders might go to prison. And ponder this: corporations can’t take investors’ money without consent. People invest in businesses voluntarily. On the other hand, the government takes your money by force of law. Yet, there seems to be no sense of responsibility when spending it.
If you’re not angry, something’s wrong with you.